China will experiment reproduction of monkeys in 'zero gravity'
The project is being developed by Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing
BEIJING: China has planned to carry out a mass experimentfor long-term settlement in orbit. Scientists are working on sending monkeys to space in order to study how they grow and reproduce in a zero-gravity environment.
China has completed the construction of its space stationTiangong and reportedly the monkeys will be sent along with the astronauts into space, IndiaTodayreported.
According toSouth China Morning Post, a Chinese scientist Zhang Lu, who led scientific research for space stated that the experiment would be conducted in the space station's largest module — Wentian — which is mainly used for experiments in life sciences.
Zhang said that after studying smaller creatures like fish and snails, "some studies involving mice and macaques (monkeys) will now be carried out to see how they grow or even reproduce in space", NDTVreported.
According to him, these kinds of experiments will enhance theunderstanding of an organism's adaption to microgravity and other space environments.