Gerbils in space

[iantobach]

From BBC news-

Russia blasts gerbils into space

Gerbils are more suited than most rodents for space flight

The Russian space agency has blasted 10 gerbils into space for a 12-day mission to test the possible effects on humans of a flight to Mars.

The small mammals, similar to mice and rats, are being kept in special cages with a supply of nuts and cereals.

Day and night will be simulated and special machines will clean their excrement in the weightless conditions.

The gerbils may find space preferable to returning to Earth - several are to be dissected upon their return.

The furry rodents lifted off from the Russian-run Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Friday in a Soyuz rocket.

Gerbils are probably more suited than most rodents for space flight because they conserve body fluids by producing a minimum of waste.

The 10 are all sand rodents, praised as "a very interesting object for research" because they "can live for more than a month without using liquids," said Anatoly Grogoryev of the Russian Academy of Science.

"This will enable scientists to determine salt exchange mechanisms in zero gravity conditions."

Gerbils, as many pet owners have discovered, are gregarious and active in daylight, which makes them easy to observe.

The 10 gerbils will be filmed during their space flight.

Makes a change to monkeys and dogs doesn`t it!!

[Whippy]

A friend of mine wrote a spoof newspaper with the headline 'I launched Goerbels into space', not particularly related, but that's what I thought when I saw the title...

TAXI!

Tony..

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

I dont know how suited they'd be for a trip to Mars, they'd be dying of old age by the time they reached the planet and entirely unable to undertake any serious science upon landing. If they were alowed to breed it might be a different matter, but by the time they got there they would be more like Tribbles than Gerbils. I say they send humans as usual, with their longer life-spans and opposable thumbs they fit the bill perfectly.

[Astroman]

KTB-It's just for study. They're not actually going to colonize Mars with gerbils. (I know you know that. It just cracked me up.)

[Stormwatch]

I dont know how suited they'd be for a trip to Mars, they'd be dying of old age by the time they reached the planet and entirely unable to undertake any serious science upon landing.

:lol:

[The Warthog]

Well, you could start off with a population of gerbils, which are tough and would find a way to multiply, then you could follow that up with a bunch of raccoons, which would eat the gerbils, but not as fast as they mutliply. Then you could send a bunch of redneck hunters, all you can find, with coon hounds, to kill the raccoons, and send all of the PETA members to set up protests against the 'coon hunters.

That would get those damned Bambi huggers out of our lives...

[iantobach]

on landing on mars they could say "One tiny step for a man,four tiny steps for rodentkind"

[Kenny_10_Bellys]

I think Gerbils, animals indigenous to desert regions, are a canny choice by Roskomos. Their natural adaptations to dry, arid conditions such as those found on the fourth planet make them an ideal choice as pioneers for colonisation. An unexpected bonus would be that there natural hopping ability will be amplified three-fold on the smaller, less dense planet, allowing them to cover that much more ground without resorting to driving expensive surface rovers.

[iantobach]

I think Gerbils, animals indigenous to desert regions, are a canny choice by Roskomos. Their natural adaptations to dry, arid conditions such as those found on the fourth planet make them an ideal choice as pioneers for colonisation. An unexpected bonus would be that there natural hopping ability will be amplified three-fold on the smaller, less dense planet, allowing them to cover that much more ground without resorting to driving expensive surface rovers.

yes and they can get around the difficult terrain in a little ball.