Bion-M No.1
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Bion-M No.1 (Бион-М) was a Russian space mission, part of the Bion-M programme focused on
space medicine Space Medicine is a subspecialty of Emergency Medicine (Fellowship Training Pathway) which evolved from the Aerospace Medicine specialty. Space Medicine is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of medical conditions that would limit success in ...
. The new generation Bion-M continued the Soviet/Russian Bion satellite programme aimed at
biological research Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
in space. The last spacecraft of the Bion series,
Bion 11 Bion 11 was a Russian biological research satellite that was part of the Bion (space flights), Bion programme. Scientists from France, Russia and United States conducted the experiments. Bion 11 was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard ...
, was launched in 1996. The Bion-M1 spacecraft was designed to carry biological, physiological and biotechnological experiments to
low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...
and return them to
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
at the end of the mission. The biological payload for Bion-M1 included rodents, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, mollusks, fish, insects, bacteria, plant and animal cell cultures. The spacecraft was the result of collaboration hosting biomedical payloads provided by scientific institutions from the United States, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries. The Bion-M automated spacecraft was a unique specialized space complex that aimed to determine the fundamental mechanisms of how life adapts to microgravity and then readapts to Earth-normal gravity.


Launch and return

The animal-carrying space capsule was launched into orbit on 19 April 2013, from
Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. The Bion-M flew a 30-day mission.NASA: Space Biosciences Division: Bion-M1

/ref> The satellite was launched in a ride-share along with 6 small satellites -
OSSI-1 OSSI-1 (standing for Open Source Satellite Initiative-1) was an amateur radio satellite launched in 2013 with Bion-M No.1. Bion-M was launched into orbit at 10:00 UTC on April 19, 2013, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, with 6 other small sa ...
,
Dove-2 Dove-2 is an Earth observation satellite launched as part of a private, commercial, space-based, remote sensing system, licensed to collect images of the Earth. It is currently undertaking an experimental mission in a 575 km circular orbit a ...
, AIST 2, BEESat 3, SOMP and BEESat 2. Return to Earth was on 19 May 2013 with a landing near
Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...
in Russia at 03:12 UTC.


Satellite description

The satellite had components from two long-standing Soviet spy satellite families. Bion's landing unit was from the Zenit 2M satellite and the satellite also carried an instrument section developed for the Yantar satellite. The satellite was made by
TsSKB Progress Rocket and Space Centre "Progress" (), commonly known as RKTs Progress (), is a Russian joint-stock company under Roscosmos. It is responsible for building and operating the Soyuz family of rockets, which serve as the primary launch vehicles f ...
of
Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
, Russia. The cargo consisted of 45 mice (three per cage), 15
gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...
s, eight
Mongolian gerbil The Mongolian gerbil or Mongolian jird (''Meriones unguiculatus'') is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically , with a tail, and body weight , with adult males larger than females. The animal is used in ...
s, snails, and fish. The animals were intended to survive the entire mission, but upon landing it was found that all gerbils, most of the 45 mice, and all of the fish were dead due to equipment failure. Fifteen of the mice died when the food dispenser in their experimental compartment stopped working. The gerbil compartment suffered a temporary loss of power, ventilation, lighting, and food supply that likely accounts for their demise. Ultimately, all of the remaining animals were euthanized for study. The Bion-M No.1 mission was managed by
Roscosmos The State Corporation for Space Activities "Roscosmos", commonly known simply as Roscosmos (), is a State corporation (Russia), state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space science, space flights, List of space agencies, c ...
, but scientists from the United States, Germany, Canada, Poland, the Netherlands and other countries also participated in the experiments.


Research

Research on the recovered animals revealed insights into the impact of spaceflight on cerebral arteries, the spinal cord, inner ear, and genetic processes. Deputy Director of Russia's Institute of Medical and Biological Studies Vladimir Sychev indicated that some of the results may help explain why some astronauts suffer impaired vision during spaceflight: "We used to think that in zero-gravity, fluid travelled upward and that the quality of blood improved, but it turns out that it is the other way around. The arteries of the brain come under duress and their capacity is reduced by 40 ." The reduced bloodflow may be key to triggering
orthostatic intolerance Orthostatic intolerance (OI) is the development of symptoms when standing upright that are relieved when reclining. There are many types of orthostatic intolerance. OI can be a subcategory of dysautonomia, a disorder of the autonomic nervous ...
.


See also

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2013 in spaceflight In 2013, the maiden spaceflight of the Orbital Sciences' Antares launch vehicle, designated ''A-ONE'', took place on 13 April. Orbital Science also launched its first spacecraft, Cygnus, that docked with the International Space Station in ...
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Effect of spaceflight on the human body The effects of spaceflight on the human body are complex and largely harmful over both short and long term. Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton ( spaceflight osteopeni ...
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Space medicine Space Medicine is a subspecialty of Emergency Medicine (Fellowship Training Pathway) which evolved from the Aerospace Medicine specialty. Space Medicine is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of medical conditions that would limit success in ...


References

{{Orbital launches in 2013 Bion satellites Spacecraft launched in 2013 2013 in spaceflight 2013 in Russia Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets