Thursday, February 07, 2013

Monkeys in Space

I was typically not amused with Western media's indignant colonial sensitivity regarding the Iranian monkey in space.  Western media in its false and fake sympathy with the monkey deliberately forgot about the history of "Western" monkeys in space.  Here is a summary from Wikipedia:
"The United States launched flights containing primate cargo primarily between 1948-1961 with one flight in 1969 and one in 1985. France launched two monkey-carrying flights in 1967. The Soviet Union and Russia launched monkeys between 1983 and 1996. Most monkeys were anesthetized before lift-off. Overall thirty-two monkeys flew in the space program; none flew more than once. Numerous back-up monkeys also went through the programs but never flew. Monkeys from several species were used, including rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and pig-tailed macaques. Some chimpanzees were also used."