As China finishes building its space station, scientists plan to conduct life science research in zero gravity, with astronauts leading the way onboard Tiangong. According to the South China Morning Post, China plans to launch a monkey to test reproduction in space.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing is leading the project’s development and is in charge of the scientific equipment required to conduct microgravity research on China’s Tiangong space station. The experiment is set to take place in the space station’s Wentian module, which docked earlier this year.
‘Some studies involving mice and macaques will be carried out to see how they grow or even reproduce in space. These experiments will help improve our understanding of an organism’s adaptation to microgravity and other space environments,’ Zhang Lu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences , was quoted as saying by SCMP.
While the module currently only has enough space for algae, fish, or snails, it has been designed to expand and configure for larger organisms. The report also stated that if the monkeys are sent into space, they will have to feed them and dispose of their waste.
China recently docked the final module of its under-construction space station, completing it and allowing China to have a long-term permanent presence beyond Earth’s orbit. The Tianhe, Wentian, and Mengtian lab modules comprise the Chinese space station’s basic T-shaped structure.
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