An Inside Look at the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Project

Yes, it's true. Mars needs women -- as well as men -- to carry out the first landmark expedition to the red planet. But before humans set boot on the far-off world, what's really mandatory are a few good mice. That's the position of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Project, a student-led private initiative to study the effects of Martian gravity on mammals. The mission that the students have accepted is nothing short of groundbreaking. Can Earth-adapted organisms survive lengthy travel to Mars, as well as long stays on the red planet?

A space crew of 11 female mice, flying on a shoestring budget, will soon teach us more about artificial gravity than NASA has managed to learn in more than 40 years. That's what Mars Society president Robert Zubrin is saying about the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Project, which will study the long-term health effects of Martian gravity on mammals. "We're hoping," said MIT professor Paul Wooster, Biosatellite's program manager, "to find out if Martian gravity, which is one-third of the Earth's, is enough to counteract the bone and muscle loss astronauts experience in zero-g."

'Mice-stronauts' could lead way to Mars

An initiative to send the first mammals into space for the express purpose of procreation has enlisted the support of several prestigious universities and a wealthy patron, according to a private organization dedicated to Mars exploration. The Mars Society said it hopes to send a crew of mice into orbit for nearly two months, allowing the rodents enough time to reproduce a brood that matures into adulthood. The mission would place the "mice-stronauts" in an environment that simulates the gravity of Mars, about one third that of Earth, to help plan long-term manned trips to the red planet, according to the Colorado-based group.

Students from the University of Washington have won a place on a team that plans to launch mice into space, seeking answers to the little-explored question of how Martian gravity affects mammals. The UW aeronautics and astronautics students will work with fellow students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Queensland in Australia to build the Translife Mars Gravity Biosatellite, a spacecraft capable of carrying the mice in orbit for nearly two months under simulated Martian gravity, then landing them safely back on Earth. The mission will feature several firsts, including the first birth of mammals in space. The Mars Society, a private organization that promotes the exploration and settlement of Mars, officially announced the team today, after having hosted a competition to determine the best concept for a spacecraft to undertake the endeavor.

Of Mice and Men, and babies, in space

A crew of miniature mammals will go where no humans have gone before, into space for the specific purpose of procreation, if a private space exploration group can make the mission fly. The proposed two-month orbital flight would allow enough time for the mice-stronauts to reproduce and the young to become adults, according to the Mars Society. The experiment would place the orbiting animals in an environment that simulated the gravity of Mars, about one third that of Earth, in order to help plan long-term manned missions to the red planet.