Put your mouse on the universe to help us learn about how to survive on Mars

These astronaut mice will help us know how the space environment affects the human body.

This Friday morning, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Station and its destination was the ISS space station. Although this is an unmanned rocket, this trip has very important passengers: 20 lab rats.

According to Futurism, these mice are part of a study from Northwestern University's Sleep and Circadian Biology Center (CSCB). As planned, 10 mice will stay on the space for 90 days while the remaining 10 mice will return to Earth after 30 days. The researchers wanted to know how the space affects the circadian rhythms of mice (biological processes that occur within 24 hours), microbiome (bacteria and other microorganisms that live in and on the body) and the Other physiological processes.

20 mice towards ISS also have identical siblings who will live on Earth at a NASA research facility.

This new study was built based on another work that CSCB conducted earlier: NASA's Twins Study . For this project, spent a year on the ISS international space station, while his twin brother Mark (also an astronaut) stayed on Earth as a pilot experience. Earlier this year, NASA published initial findings from the study, that the time Scott spent in space affected about 7% of his genes.

20 mice towards ISS also have identical siblings who will live on Earth at a NASA research facility. There, they will be tested with the same conditions as their siblings in space - the same lighting, temperature and operating conditions.

Although mice and humans have different biological properties, it is hoped that this study will help clarify the spatial impact on the body compared to the previous "NASA's Twins Study" study . After all, while Scott was on, his brother was living his own life on Earth and what he did could impact the results of the study.

We already know there are countless health risks associated with space exposures such as loss of vision, cancer, psychological illness. However, we do not know how long the short period of time in space affects people. A journey to Mars may take several years. Therefore, we must know how time in the universe affects people before deciding whether or not to make a trip?

Although 90 days is not a long time, it is equivalent to 9 years in our lives. Therefore, these rat astronauts may hold the key to finding out what happens when we spend a considerable amount of time outside of the Earth's atmosphere.