CAMY- EXPERIMENTS WITH ANIMALS

Animal experiments in space originally served to test the survival in space flight before attempting to manned space missions. On numerous occasions the animals sent to spacecraft to investigate different biological processes and the possible effects of microgravity may have. As of 2004, only six countries have taken animals into space: the United States, the Soviet Union, France, Japan, China and Argentina. In the sixties and seventies Argentina made sending experience different animals (white rats, guinea pigs and monkeys) in sub-orbital flights aboard home-made rockets, theirs being the first major experiences in Latin America.The first animals sent into space were fruit flies, which split with corn seeds aboard a V-2 rocket in mid July 1946. The purpose of the experiment was to investigate the effects of exposure to radiation at high altitude. Subsequent expeditions took some biological samples, such as moss. Albert II, a Rhesus monkey, was the first monkey sent into space, manned V-2 rocket launched from the United States of America on June 14, 1949. Albert II died in a collision, after the parachute system failed. Since then, many monkeys sent into space, especially in years 50 and 60. The monkeys went into space with sensors that measured their vital signs, and often were anesthetized during the flight. [Edit]