Russia's "Monkeys to Mars" space mission draws PETA protest

[CougarKing]

Didn't they send a dog into space during the pioneer space missions of the 50s and 60s?

Space.com

Russia's Monkeys-to-Mars Mission Draws PETA Protest
[SPACE.com]
Leonard David
SPACE.com
January 4, 2016

Destination Mars – monkeys before astronauts?

The word from Russia is that the country wants to send monkeys to the Red Planet by 2017. But waving the red flag on such a plan are the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

A few months ago, it was reported that researchers from the Russian Academy of Science are busy training four macaque monkeys to make a long-distance trek to the Red Planet.

Researcher Inessa Kozlovskaya is the leader of the team responsible for teaching the monkeys at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Educating the animals includes joystick training and tapping into the cognitive thinking and learning skills of the animals.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Journeyman]

Didn't they send a dog into space during the pioneer space missions of the 50s and 60s?

  Laika, the first animal to orbit the Earth, launched 3 Nov 57.

 

[jeffb]

Big difference between apes and dogs in space for a few orbits and launching them all the way to Mars. If the intent is to actually land them on Mars, and if not, why even bother, then they will have to figure out how to eat/sleep/poop in a weightless environment for an extended period of time. I'd be willing to bet that this doesn't actually happen. If the monkey's die of starvation three weeks into their 6 month flight, that would be a very expensive trip for nothing.

 

[Journeyman]

If the monkey's die of starvation three weeks into their 6 month flight, that would be a very expensive trip for nothing.

Why would you think they could not calculate how much daily food to provide the monkey?

The article provides no information on what scientific information is to be gained from sending the monkeys; maybe there's a reason to "bother."  During the early animal launches, the reason was that scientists didn't even know if living creatures could survive launching, let alone orbiting, hence dogs and monkeys.

Personally, I'd send Matt Damon back, but that's just me.

 

[jeffb]

Oh I'm sure they could PROVIDE the food. The problem is how to get the monkey to actually eat the food and not defecate everywhere while floating around. Mars is a long way away...

 

[Journeyman]

Well, as long as someone is focused on the key stumbling block for the entire program.....

 

[jeffb]

I just enjoy the mental image of a capsule filled with monkey poop and half eaten rations settling down on Mars followed by the Russian monkey conquest of the Red Planet.

 

[Journeyman]

:dunno:

If they could train Marc Garneau and Chris Hadfield -- both RMC grads -- then I'm sure monkeys would be pretty straight-forward.