As part of what Iran states is a step toward launching its own manned mission to space, the country claims to have sent a monkey into space on a rocket, and recovered it alive after it returned to Earth. Unfortunately for those of us fascinated by spaceflight or terrified of Iranian rocket technology, there aren’t many details on the (reportedly) successful flight.
Back in September of 2011, Iran attempted to send a monkey into space, but the reports coming out of the country said the mission failed. Exactly how the mission failed, though, was not disclosed. The mission reportedly involved sending a rhesus monkey into space on a Kavoshgar-5 rocket, and was supposedly “not publicized” because — as Iran Deputy Science Minister Mohammad Mehdinejad-Nouri put it — none of the mission objectives were met. We don’t know what that meant for the monkeynaut.
The report was aired on Iranian state television, and some images of the monkey being prepared for takeoff were shown. The little guy was wearing a protective monkey-sized outfit, and was strapped into a monkey-sized safety seat. The Explorer rocket in which the monkey traveled, dubbed the Pishgam (which translates to Pioneer), was said to have traveled a height of 72 miles (120 kilometers). There were no other details of the launch, other than the monkey returned to Earth safely, and was hopefully greeted appropriately.
Via: extremetech.com
Iran sends a monkey into space and recovers it alive: Should we worry?
