China to send monkeys to its new space station to study how they reproduce there, report says

Getting large animals to mate in a zero-gravity environment poses several hurdles

China is reportedly planning to send monkeys to its newly completed Tiangong space station to study how they grow and reproduce in a zero-gravity environment.

The research would be conducted in the space station’s largest module slated to be used for life science experiments, South China Morning Post reported, citing Zhang Lu, a scientist leading the development of scientific equipment for the space station.

“These experiments will help improve our understanding of an organism’s adaptation to microgravity and other space environments,” Dr Lu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said in a speech.

Although previous studies have assessed the reproduction of smaller organisms such as zebrafish and worms in space, scientists said there are several challenges to overcome to conduct such research on more complex life forms like mice and primates.

While researchers in the former Soviet Union got rats to mate in space during an 18-day trip, they found none of them gave birth after they were returned to Earth.

Getting these larger animals to mate in zero gravity poses several hurdles, including the ability of the macaques to maintain close contact and arousal in their new space environment.

Researchers also point to difficulties in feeding the monkeys through the study period and dealing with their waste.

The monkeys should also be kept stress-free and comfortable in their enclosures in the space station as this may affect their mood to engage in sexual behaviour.

With China docking the third and final module to complete its permanent space station earlier this week, it remains to be seen how its planned biological experiments in the zero-gravity environment would play out.

The Tiangong space station is currently populated by a crew of two male and one female astronauts – Chen Dong, Cai Xuzhe and Liu Yang.

The astronauts arrived in June and are slated to complete the station’s assembly before the end of this year, conduct space walks and also carry out scientific experiments during their stay.