The Research Institute of Medical Primatology (SRI MP, Sochi) has begun training macaques for a flight to Mars. This is reported by "Interfax" with reference to the director of the research institute Sergei Orlov.
Orlov said that macaques will be prepared at the Center for Nuclear Physics in Dubna by simulating weightlessness and cosmic radiation. The grant for the work was received by the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution NIIMP.
He recalled that monkeys were already being prepared for flying in Russia in the 1980s. However, several years ago, Russian scientists announced that they were no longer going to launch large animals into space.
In early 2013, Iran launched a monkey into space. The launch of the animal into space is Iran's preparation for the launch of its astronaut, slated for 2021. On a monkey, Iranian scientists intend to study the work of the body in zero gravity. In December 2013, the country made the second launch of the monkey into space using liquid propellant launch vehicles.