Bion-M No.2 () is a planned Russian space mission, part of the Bion 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 ...

. This second generation Bion-M continues the biological research in space. The prior spacecraft in the series,

Bion-M No.1 Bion-M No.1 (Бион-М) was a Russian space mission, part of the Bion (satellite), Bion-M programme focused on space medicine. The new generation Bion-M continued the Soviet/Russian Bion (satellite), Bion satellite programme aimed at Biology, ...

, was launched in 2013. The Bion-M spacecraft are 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.

Satellite description

The satellite has components from two long-standing Soviet spy satellite families. Bion's landing unit is from the Zenit 2M satellite and the satellite also carries 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 ...

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.

Launch

The animal-carrying space capsule will be launched into orbit by a

Soyuz-2 Soyuz2 (; GRAU index: 14A14) is a Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket family. Compared to its predecessors, Soyuz-2 features significant upgrades, including improved engines and ...

.1b

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

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 ...

no earlier than March 2025.

References

Bion satellites 2025 in spaceflight 2025 in Russia Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets {{space-stub

Satellite description

Launch

See also

References