22 September 2013
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The photo shows cats while training to fly in space
NASA archive
Iran announced it is considering launching a Persian cat into space, in March 2014, as its next space animal, after claiming it launched a monkey earlier this year.
The effort is part of Iranian ambitions to send a human into space by 2018, but questions have been raised about the reported successes of Iran’s animal space missions.
A press report by the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, quotes space official Mohammad Ebrahimi as saying Iran’s next space capsule could carry the distinctive Persian cat, a long-haired, flat-faced cat breed. The report also stated that a mouse and rabbit are under consideration.
In February 2013, Iran declared it successfully sent a monkey to an altitude of 120 km, outside the atmosphere, on a flight that lasted 20 minutes, and returned it safely. However, some observers cast doubts on this claim.
References
Yahoo News
Wikipedia
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist