Russians Are Training Monkeys For A Mission To Mars

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Russians Are Training Monkeys For A Mission To Mars 3

Humans have used monkeys for space exploration and they have proven to be critically useful. Monkeys helped humans understand the conditions that they would have to face when they planned a trip to moon and the latest project regarding monkeys helping out with space exploration is slated to be completed by 2017 after which Russian monkeys will be able to travel to Mars. This will enable scientists to gain enough data to determine the best possible way of training humans for Mars-trip.Russians Are Training Monkeys For A Mission To Mars 5

The monkeys are currently being trained so that they are able to solve puzzles and problems. Apart from this, the monkeys are also being taught how to handle a joystick. As expected, having monkeys carry out such tasks is not a walk in the park. The ones that have been selected were required to exhibit a very high potential.Russians Are Training Monkeys For A Mission To Mars 4

The monkeys are raised in special farms and the most promising ones from the lot are selected for participation in the effort geared towards research. This time, four rhesus macaques were selected and now are being trained every day in the art of joystick – learning how to hit a target on screen. When the trainees perform the task successfully, they are rewarded with a sip of juice.

Pic shows: Monkey with scientifics. The Russians are up to some monkey business in space, after it was revealed they are planning to have a team of macaques capable of going to Mars in two years. Scientists from the Institute of Biomedical Problems, which is part of the Russian Academy Of Science, say they are preparing four rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to train them to be able to make the flight. The animals are being trained three hours a day so they can travel safely into outer space, and eventually land on Mars. The special group of rhesus macaques were chosen for their cognitive abilities and their quick-learning skills. For scientific projects these type of monkeys are hand-reared in special farms, where the cleverest ones get selected to work at the Institute of Biomedical Problems. Inessa Kozlovskaya, one of the leading experts from the institute, believes that sending a monkey to Mars is a viable option. She said: "What we are trying to do is to make them as intelligent as possible so we can use them to explore space beyond our orbit." The smartest representative of the four macaquesí is called Clyopa who is seen on this extraordinary training video. Every day the cute little creature spends hours learning how to control a joystick and hit a target, which is highlighted by a cursor. Natalia Miller, one of the specialists working with the monkey, says that Clyopa gets a sip of a juice as a treat for fulfilling tasks properly. The next step the Russian scientists plan to accomplish is teaching the macaques how to solve simple mathematical tasks and puzzles. At the end of their training, the smart creatures should be able to complete their daily schedule of tasks on their own. Inessa Kozlovskaya, who has been working on the program since the 1980s, said that the main goal is to teach monkeys to perform a particular range of tasks which they will be able to remember. The team are also hoping that the space monkeys will be able to train others and integrate them into the team, and hopefully their descendants will also benefit from having intelligent parents. Macaques typically have a lifespan of around 25 years, so it is hoped there is enough time to train them properly and for them to survive the six-month trip to Mars. (ends)

The research team is being led by Inessa Kozlovskaya who is hopeful that by 2017, the monkeys would have completed their training and shall have learned multiple and varying tasks that they will be able to remember.Russians Are Training Monkeys For A Mission To Mars

Dr. Kozlovskaya said, “What we are trying to do is to make them as intelligent as possible so we can use them to explore space beyond our orbit.” The team also has a peculiarly ambitious goal; to have this set of monkeys train more monkeys for carrying out important tasks thus helping in increasing this 4-member team. Would be interesting to say the least as to how they would go on about it and make it a reality. Fingers crossed!

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