Russia launches satellite carrying mice, snails, and fish.

Russia's Bion-M scientific satellite, carrying dozens of small animals for scientific research, was launched into space on April 19th by a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome and has entered its intended orbit.

The satellite carried several mice, snails, fish, and some microorganisms, with mice being the primary subject of study. This marks the first time mice have been flown into space on a biological satellite.

Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle. (Source: nasaspaceflight.com)

Scientists will study changes at the genetic level in mice during long flights.

For mice, 30 days is a long time in their life cycle. Therefore, it is possible to observe changes at the cellular and molecular levels and make predictions about long-haul human flights.

Representatives from the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences stated that scientists will observe the mice's activity throughout the flight using cameras in real-time.

Bion-M will remain in orbit for about a month, then return to Earth bringing with it scientific findings.

In addition to the Bion-M satellite, the Soyuz rocket also launched six small Russian spacecraft, three German spacecraft, and two American and South Korean spacecraft into orbit.

According to (VNA) - VT