Iran is getting in on space travel. Before it sends humans off the planet, the country’s space agency decided to take a test ride with a monkey.
According to the state’s semi-official Fars News Agency, Iran “sent a monkey to the orbit, brought it back to the Earth and retrieved the animal and the relevant data successfully.”
The creature achieved an altitude of 75 miles, according to the news agency.
This monkey follows in the paw prints of smaller animals like a rat, turtles and worms, that had their own adventures aboard Iran’s Kavoshgar-3 rocket in 2010, the news agency said.
Iran isn’t the only country that has used animals for space research. During the 1950s, for example, the Russians launched a mixed-breed dog, Laika, into orbit.
While today’s news is a success for monkeys everywhere, Iran’s space agency says it will have its first manned space mission in the next five to eight years.
What’s better then surviving your first trip to space? Bananas. Lots of bananas
-CNN