Iran insists it did send monkey into space

Iran has insisted that it really did send a monkey into space – and the confusion over the simian's identity was down to state media showing the wrong animal.
The two different monkeys shown in the photos released by Iran's state media caused some international observers to wonder whether the monkey had died in space or that the launch did not go well.

One set of pictures showed a relatively dark-haired monkey. Another showed a different monkey – strapped in a pod – that had light grey hair and a distinctive red mole over its right eye.


Mohammad Ebrahimi, a senior space official told the The Associated Press on Saturday that the monkey who travelled in space was named "Pishgam," the Farsi word for pioneer. Initially, the Iranian media said "Pishgam" was the rocket that took him on a 20-minute journey into space on Monday.

Mr Ebrahimi said one set of pictures showed an archive photo of one of the alternate monkeys. He said three to five monkeys are simultaneously tested for such a flight and two or three are chosen for the launch. Finally, the one that is best suited for the mission and is not stressed is chosen for the voyage.

State TV pictures seen by AP show the dark-haired monkey before and after the space flight, but a package of still pictures released by authorities showed the other monkey with the mole.