Persian cat considered for space launch
(Wikimedia Commons)
theweathernetwork.com
Monday, September 16, 2013, 12:32 PM -
Iran says it is considering sending a Persian cat into space as the next animal astronaut. The effort is part of Iranian ambitions to send a human into space by 2018.
Monday's report by the official IRNA news agency comes seven months after Iran claimed it launched a monkey into space.
That account however, faced international questions about whether it was the same monkey shown in pre and post launch photos.
Space official Mohammad Ebrahimi insisted it was just one monkey and was quoted as saying the next animal could be the distinctive long-haired Persian cat.
He said the launch would happen before March 21, but no other details were given.
In 2010, Iranian officials said it sent a mouse, a turtle and some worms on a space flight.
With files from The Associated Press
