A New Crew of Mousetronauts Is Headed to the International Space Station

On April 8, SpaceX is set to resume resupply flights to the International Space Station, carrying with it some special crew members. Tucked inside the Dragon cargo ship is a crew of 20 mousetronauts that will help scientists better understand how muscles deteriorate during spaceflight. Rodents, in particular mice and rats, have a long history in spaceflight dating back to the 1950s. At least 27 shuttle missions carried rodent passengers into orbit. Each of those missions was short-term, lasting no longer than two weeks. On board the ISS, scientists are able to house mice for periods of 30 to 90 days, which will substantially increase our knowledge of the effects of microgravity on different organ systems. So why mice? Mice are just one type of “model” organism, meaning a widely-studied organism used to help understand biological processe More

(Source: Motherboard - Apr 5)