|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
. | ![]() |
. |
|
![]() |
![]() by Staff Writers Moscow (RIA Novosti) Sep 03, 2014
The five geckos onboard Russia's Foton-M4 satellite died simultaneously two days before landing because of a technical malfunction, the head of the experiment, Sergei Savelyev, told RIA Novosti Tuesday. "The autopsy revealed that the deaths were caused by technical issues and are related to the malfunction of one of the biosatellite's systems," said Savelyev, researcher at the Institute of Human Morphology and head of the experiment. "Autopsies of three of the five [geckos] have been conducted, and the remaining two will be examined today. We can already confidently conclude that the death of all geckos happened almost simultaneously. "The poor guys died within a few hours. Their bodies were not mummified, as some have reported. Moreover, their organs show that the death occurred no more than two days ago," Savelyev explained. Savelyev denied reports saying the geckos died from hypothermia, as the lizards were unlikely to have had a lengthy cool-down. "There was apparently a quick and short synchronous effect on all animals... Some technical glitch in the life-support system," he said, stressing that it was necessary to collect and examine the satellite's data in order to determine the exact problem. The biosatellite carrying lizards and fruit flies was launched into space by Russian scientists on July 19 to explore how space conditions impact fertility. The satellite landed as planned in Russia's Orenburg region on Monday. While the insects survived and were able to breed, the geckos, four females and one male, arrived dead.
Related Links Roscosmos Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News
|
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |