Five gecko lizards sent into orbit on a Russian space satellite as part of a sex experiment have all died, the Russian space agency says. The Foton-M4 satellite returned to Earth on Monday, the Roscosmos agency said in a statement. Experts say the geckos may have frozen to death after the heating system broke down, Russian news agencies report. Read more
Russia loses control of gecko sex experiment satellite
A Russian satellite containing geckos, fruit flies and mushrooms could plummet to earth if control is not regained, according to reports. The engine of the Foton-M4 satellite, with several experiments on board, has stopped responding to ground control. All other systems are intact, the Progress space centre stated, including "one-way" transmission of information. Read more