Kosmos 936 or Bion 4 (''Бион 4'', ''Космос 936'') was a Bion satellite. The mission involved nine countries in a series of

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

experiments. The experiments were primarily follow-ups to the Bion 3 (Kosmos 782) flight. Scientists from the Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the United States and the Soviet Union conducted experiments in physics and biology on the mission.

Spacecraft

The spacecraft was based on the Zenit

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

and launches began in 1973 with primary emphasis on the problems of radiation effects on human beings. Launches in the program included Kosmos 110, 605, 670, 782, plus Nauka modules flown on

Zenit-2M The Zenit-2M, Zenit-2SB, Zenit-2SLB or Zenit-2FG was a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-3SL. It was a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhmash. Development The Zenit 2M was a mo ...

reconnaissance satellites. 90 kg of equipment could be contained in the external Nauka module.

Launch

Kosmos 936 was launched on 3 August 1977, at 14:01:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

by a

Soyuz-U Soyuz-U ( GRAU index: 11A511U) was a Soviet and later Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress factory in Samara, Russia. The ''U'' designation stands for ''unified' ...

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

Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome () is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. Until 2025 and the commissioning of the Andøya Space, Andøya base in Norway, it was the only operati ...

. The mission ended after 19.5 days.

Mission

The mission was to conduct various biological studies, continuing the Bion 3 mission experiments. He had two

centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to subject a specimen to a specified constant force - for example, to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby ...

s on board to put some specimens in an

artificial gravity Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of ...

environment. An attempt was made to differentiate, using rats, between the effects caused by space flight itself from those caused by stress. The effects of flight on muscle and bone, on red cell survival, and on

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

and

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

were also studied, and an experiment with rats on the effects of space radiation on the

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

was conducted. One of the instruments (without a biological part) studied the physical parameters of the components of space radiation. Fruit flies were used in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and aging studies. A group of

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s of the ''

Rattus norvegicus ''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus. Species and description The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the black rat (''R. rattus' ...

'' species were sent, with an average weight of at launch and 62 days of age. Twenty of the rats experienced

microgravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

and the other ten were subjected to the

of the

References

Bibliography

* Kozlov, D. I. (1996), Mashnostroenie, ed., ''Konstruirovanie avtomaticheskikh kosmicheskikh apparatov'', Moscow, ISBN * Melnik, T. G. (1997), Nauka, ed., ''Voenno-Kosmicheskiy Sili'', Moscow, ISBN * "Bion' nuzhen lyudyam", ''Novosti Kosmonavtiki'', (6): 35, 1996 Bion satellites Kosmos satellites Spacecraft launched in 1977 1977 in spaceflight 1977 in the Soviet Union Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations Romania–Soviet Union relations Hungary–Soviet Union relations Poland–Soviet Union relations France–Soviet Union relations Soviet Union–United States relations East Germany–Soviet Union relations {{USSR-spacecraft-stub

Spacecraft

Launch

Mission

See also

References

Bibliography