Iran is considering candidates for the next animal to be launched into space, and among them is the Persian cat.
Iran is considering candidates for the next animal to be launched into space, and among them is the Persian cat.
The extra-furry, flat-faced breed is commonly believed to have originated in Iran way back when it was it was still called Persia.
Iconic associations aside, when it’s factored in that the docile felines have a reputation for respiratory problems the other candidates may gain an edge.
The cat’s competition is, at this time, a mouse and a rabbit.
While Iran’s ambitions of putting a person in space by 2018 are well documented, its experience with sending living creatures there is not.
Earlier this year, the country’s space program officials announced that they’d successfully sent a monkey into space and safely retrieved it.
However, in press photos the monkey that was launched appeared to be completely different than the one that landed.
There’s also a lack of sufficient proof that in 2010 the claimed space mission involving a mouse, a turtle, and some worms ever happened.
The Persian cats of the world can perhaps find some comfort in that and go back to their regularly scheduled naps.
