Iran to send Persian cat up into space
While many countries have stopped sending animals into space Iran is slowly building up its space program and will be sending a feline into space. The scientists in charge have decided that the best animal for the task would be a Persian cat. It will be used in preparation for Iran's first manned space mission which it hopes to complete in 2020.
A Persian cat has been chosen as a favoured candidate for the mission after it did the best on tests against other animals.
The announcement, released by state media, has already caused controversy from animal rights groups. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were disappointed and spokesman Ben Williamson said that "Iran's archaic experiment ... is a throwback to the primitive techniques of the 1950s,"
"European and US space agencies stopped sending animals into space not only because it is unethical but also because they turned out to be poor models for the human experience and because superior, more scientific non-animal methods of study are now available."
In January Iran launched a live monkey into space and brought it back safely however critics claim that the monkey paraded on tv after the launch was in fact a different one that went into space.
Iran’s space program has promoted concern in the West which believes that it is a coverup for mastering technology to use nuclear warheads.
The top space official Mohammad Ebrahimi told the state news agency that the mission could go ahead by March next year but missions have been called off previously without any explanation.
The first animals that went into space were fruit flies that were aboard a US launched V2 rocket in February 20th, 1947. They based the barriers of entry into space and were safely returned alive. The first monkey in space was named Albert II who was launched in another V2 rocket in 1949.