SpaceX Dragon has Returned from Space with Mice!

A SpaceX Dragon capsule has returned from the International Space Station  carrying mice, the The capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on September 17, having launched to the station on August 14. Approximately 1,700 kilograms of cargo was returned to Earth from the ISS. It took Dragon about 5.5 hours to get back to Earth after leaving the ISS

Astronaut Scott Kelly using the Mouse Research Facility on the ISS in 2015. NASA

These mice were special for NASA’s Research study, which has been looking at how microgravity affects blood vessels in the brain and eyes, they can find out how the vision of astronauts might be affected on long-duration missions to Mars. Usually these mice are put to death after the research, these are the lucky ones. This research also looked at the effect of weightlessness on tissue degeneration in hip and knee joints.

This was the SpaceX's 12th cargo mission to the ISS . The company is going to trend in the coming months, with a planned launch of – the Falcon Heavy – scheduled for later this year, and an inaugural launch of its manned Crew Dragon spacecraft expected in summer 2018.