Animals in space originally served to test the survivability of spaceflight, before human spaceflights were attempted. Later, many species were flown to investigate various biological processes and the effects microgravity and space flight might have on them. Bioastronautics is an area of bioengineering research that spans the study and support of life in space. To date, seven national space programs have flown animals into space: the United States, Soviet Union, France, Argentina, China, Japan and Iran.
Heteromyidae is a family of rodents consisting of kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice and spiny pocket mice. Most heteromyids live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, though species within the genus Heteromys are also found in forests and their range extends as far south as northern South America. They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.
Perognathus is a genus of pocket mouse. Like other members of their family they are more closely related to pocket gophers than to true mice.
Perognathinae is a subfamily of rodents consisting of two genera of pocket mice. Most species live in complex burrows within the deserts and grasslands of western North America, They feed mostly on seeds and other plant parts, which they carry in their fur-lined cheek pouches to their burrows.
The southern grasshopper mouse or scorpion mouse is a species of predatory rodent in the family Cricetidae, native to Mexico and the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in the United States. Notable for its resistance to venom, it routinely preys on the highly venomous Arizona bark scorpion.
The little desert pocket mouse is a species of small rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to Baja California in Mexico.
Bailey's pocket mouse is a species of rodent of the subfamily Perognathinae, family Heteromyidae. It is found in Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora in Mexico and in California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States.
The California pocket mouse is a species of nocturnal and primarily solitary rodent in the family Heteromyidae.
The San Diego pocket mouse is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae. It occupies the northern region of Baja California near San Diego extending into Mexico.
The spiny pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae and order Rodentia. It is found in Baja California in Mexico and in Arizona, California and Nevada.
The dark kangaroo mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah in the United States.
The olive-backed pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in the central Great Plains of Canada and the United States where it is widespread and relatively common; the IUCN considers it to be of "least concern".
The silky pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in northern and central Mexico and the southwest region of the United States. It is a species of least concern, according to the IUCN, with no known major threats. The silky pocket mouse eats seeds, succulent parts of plants and nuts, and carries food in its cheek pouches. It lives in low valley bottoms with soft soils, among weeds and shrubs, where it burrows in the sand to bury seed caches. The species is more tolerant of harsh habitat conditions than other pocket mice.
The San Joaquin pocket mouse or Salinas pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to California in the United States where it lives in desert and semi-desert habitats.
Merriam's pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in northeast Mexico and New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas in the United States. Its habitat is shortgrass prairie, desert areas with scrub and arid shrubland. The species is named to honor Clinton Hart Merriam, a biologist who first described several other members of the genus Perognathus, and first elucidated the principle of a "life zone" as a means of characterizing ecological areas with similar plant and animal communities.
The Great Basin pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and the western United States.
The Pacific pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris pacificus, is endemic to California. It lives in sandy coastal soils of the coastal sage scrub ecoregion. It eats seeds and some insects. It was believed to be extinct until 1993, when a small population was discovered. It is now a federally listed Endangered animal species.
The white-eared pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is endemic to the San Bernardino Mountains and the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California in the United States. There are two subspecies of P. alticola in California, P. a. alticola and P. a. inexpectatus, both of which are considered species of special concern by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, and Phooey were five mice who traveled to the Moon and circled it 75 times on the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. NASA gave them identification numbers A3305, A3326, A3352, A3356, and A3400, and their nicknames were given by the Apollo 17 crew. The four male mice, one female mouse, and Evans orbited the Moon for a record-setting six days and four hours in the Apollo command module America as Cernan and Schmitt performed the Apollo program's last lunar excursions.
The Biological Cosmic Ray Experiment (BIOCORE) was a lunar science experiment that flew on board Command module America as part of Apollo 17. The goal of the BIOCORE experiment was to explore whether or not high-energy cosmic rays produced visibly identifiable trauma to brain and eye tissues.
