"Iran to Send New Living Creatures into Space" (Fars News-Iran)

"Probably mice"? They don't have it totally figured out yet:

Iranian scientists plan to send a second biocapsule of living creatures, probably mice, into the space, an academic revealed on Sunday without giving any specific date for the launch.

"The plan for sending living creature into space was approved and it is waiting for a final approval," Mansour Kabkanian, a professor at Tehran's Amirkabir University, said on Sunday.

"After the final approval, the plan for sending living creatures into space will be implemented," he said, adding that the country plans to send the living creatures to the altitude of 300km below the 70 degrees orbit.

Kabkanian also mentioned that Iranian scientists have proposed sending mice into space since they are stronger and more resistant than other mammals.

Also earlier this year, Head of Iran's Space Agency renewed his promise that Iran would send a live monkey into space.

"One cannot give a set date for this project and as soon as our nation's scientists announce the readiness (of the project) it will be announced," said Hamid Fazeli in October.

Fazeli had said in mid-June that Iran plans to launch a Kavoshgar-5 rocket with a 285-kilogram capsule carrying a monkey to an altitude of 120 kilometers (74 miles)."

"Our scientists are exerting continuous efforts on this project... our colleagues are busy with empirical studies and sub-system testing of this project so it is a success," he said.

In mid-March, Iran's space organization announced the launch of the Kavoshgar-4 rocket carrying a test capsule designed to house the monkey.

The capsule had been unveiled in February by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with four new prototypes of home-built satellites the country hopes to launch before March 2012.

At the time, Fazeli called the launch of a large animal into space as the first step towards sending a man into space, which Tehran says is scheduled for 2020.

Iran has already sent small animals into space - a rat, turtles and worms - aboard a capsule carried by its Kavoshgar-3 rocket in 2010. [...]

And they came back alive?