RUSSIA's space programme has claimed the life of a brave adventurer. A monkey named Mutlik died on 8 January in Moscow after returning from a controversial 14-day space mission known as Bion 11.
The mission was sponsored by Russia, France and the US, and was designed to help scientists understand the physiological effects of weightlessness (This Week, 4 May 1996, p 5).
Mutlikone of two monkeys which flew in a Russian capsuledied at the Institute for Biomedical Problems a day after landing in Kazakhstan. The animal died following surgery to remove electrodes that had been implanted in its body before the flight.
The death has been seized on by groups that opposed the mission. "Mutlik must have gone through hell to die so soon after landing," says Mary Beth Sweetland of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
But Susan Parris, president of Americans for Biomedical Progress, says: "There ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.