They are being dubbed ‘Rattronauts’ and NASA are planning to launch a team of them to the International Space Station sometime in the near future but how do you choose a rat with ‘The right stuff’ and why are they sending rats to the ISS in the first place, well for science of course.
Plenty of animals including Dogs, Monkeys, Chimps, spiders, cockroaches, tardigrades, bees, ants and rats have flown into space in the past but the missions have only ever lasted a week or so and this new mission could see the rats up in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for up to 90 days.
“This means there will need to be changes to animal husbandry to keep the rats happy and healthy”, said Julie Robinson, NASA’s chief scientist for the space station, in a recent press conference. “This will allow animals to be studied for longer period of time on space station missions,”
The exact launch date of ‘Team Rat’ isn’t nail down yet and NASA also needs to ensure the safe return of the rodent hero’s as they a typical return to earth scenario means a hefty splash down and some time at sea waiting for a tow which could be fairly uncomfortable and possibly life threatening. “Launching rats for the experiment are preferable to mice, which are smaller and require less food, because rats’ neurocognitive functioning is similar to that of humans”, Robinson noted.
Once the rats are returned to earth it will give scientist a better understanding of how space born radiation effects the brain and other organs in mammals which if we are planning to get to Mars anytime soon is handy information to have.
Stay Curious – C.Costigan
