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First Birth of Mammals in Space Planned
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 10:37 am ET
24 April 2002
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Headline: First Birth of Mammals in Space Planned You knew it would be mice. They get tagged for doing everything first, usually even before the guinea pigs. And so it is with the first birth of mammals in space. The Translife Mars Gravity Biosatellite is being planned to explore how Mars' reduced gravity will affect humans, from birth to death. Since the satellite will be too small to actually carry humans into space, mice will take the first shot at procreation ever (known to be) attempted by a mammal outside Earth and its atmosphere. The mission is a project of the private Mars Society, which first discussed it last fall and, earlier this month, announced a team of students from various universities to help build the spacecraft and conduct the experiments. Researchers hope the orbiting mice, aloft for two months, will survive and return to Earth as a new clan. The mouse mission will gather information on whether humans can live, function and develop normally in Martian gravity, which is about three-eighths that of Earth's. NASA has long said it can't plan a crewed mission to Mars until more is learned about bone loss and muscle deterioration in such an environment. The Mars Society wants to go to the Red Planet now. So while circling the Earth, a "carrier module" on the satellite will spin, using centrifugal force to simulate Martian gravity for the mice. "From a student perspective, this sort of project is priceless," said Adam Bruckner, chairman of the University of Washington Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, one of the university participants. A team there has worked for three months to come up with a winning design. "It's one thing to learn about spacecraft from a book, but it's a completely different experience to design and build something that will actually go into space." Students are seeking donations to finance the mission, expected to cost as much as $10 million. An anonymous donor has pledged to match contributions at 50 percent. Students at MIT and the University of Queensland in Australia are also working on the project. No launch date is set.
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