Descent module of `Bion-M` No. 2 after landing in the Orenburg region.
Ten of the 75 mice that journeyed into space aboard the Bion-M No. 2 satellite did not survive the flight. Scientists at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IMBP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences have initiated an investigation to determine the causes of death, which will be established based on the collected data. Despite the losses, the IMBP director expressed overall satisfaction with the mission`s results, noting that the deaths were attributed to the aggressive intragroup conflicts naturally occurring among male mice.
The Bion-M No. 2 spacecraft launched on August 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Soyuz-2.1b rocket. It maintained a high-latitude orbit at an altitude ranging from 370 to 380 kilometers. Aboard the satellite, in addition to the 75 mice, were thousands of Drosophila flies, human and animal stem cell samples, medicinal plants, various seeds, algae, and microorganisms for scientific experiments.
The Bion-M No. 2 descent module successfully landed on September 19 at 11:00 AM Moscow time in the Orenburg region. Over 30 biological experiments were conducted during its 30-day stay in a polar orbit with an inclination of 96.63 degrees.
