We’ve been sending animals into space for 7 decades – yet there are still no rules to protect them from harm

Ham was one of the chimpanzees NASA used during the 1960s to test the Mercury capsule before human space flight. NASA/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

This week, Russia is expected to launch its Bion-M No.2 biosatellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying 75 mice and 1,500 fruit flies.

While the mission underscores Russia’s ongoing investment in space medicine, it reignites ethical concerns over the treatment of animals in space research.