Russia lost control of a satellite carrying a load of fornicating geckos.
The lizards are part of 22 experiments conducted aboard the Foton-M4 satellite. The space agency says they can still get information (which indicates the four females and one male is getting busy) from the craft but it is not responding to commands, the Huffington Post reported. The team lost control of the satellite on July 18.
"The equipment which is working in automatic mode, and in particular the experiment with the geckos is working according to the program," Oleg Voloshin, a spokesman of Russia's Institute of Medico-Biological Problems, told Agence France-Presse, the Huffington Post reported.
The satellite will most likely fall from orbit within a few months if the space agency cannot regain control. The geckos aboard will also die from starvation within about two and a half months if the life support system is disrupted, the Guardian reported.
The experiment, which was meant to last two months, looked at the effect of microgravity on sexual behaviour, the body of adult animals and embryonic development" according to the IMBP website, the BBC reported.
The Photon-M satellite was launched into space atop a Soyuz rocket on July 19; this was following a three week holdup due to delays in the testing of the electrical system, according to the Guardian. The satellite is currently at an orbital height of 155 miles, but the original mission had expected the craft to be at an altitude of 357 miles; a malfunction kept a planned burn from occurring, leaving the craft at a lower orbit, the Daily Mail reported. Ground controllers are currently in the process of working to retain communication.
A similar event occurred last year when a Russian Bion-M satellite containing fish, gerbils, and mice crashed back to Earth not long after it was launched.
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