The satellite contained four females — and one lucky male — as part of a study on sex in zero gravity. But after just a few days in orbit, the craft began failing to respond to commands from the ground. (Via Russian Federal Space Agency, Al Jazeera)
That meant, unless control was re-established, the geckos would just stay up there mating in space until they ran out of food and the satellite crashed back down to Earth. (Via Tambako The Jaguar / CC BY-ND 2.0)
But Roscosmos announced Saturday that they've re-established control of their zero-G sexcraft, and everything is back to what they call normal.
A simple glitch in the computer system reportedly caused the malfunction. But with a story like this, the media are never content to be that straightforward.
Business insider called the whole operation "a mission to film a sex tape in space," and The Independent wrote the headline: "Satellite full of sexually experimental geckos adrift in space."
There was also this little jab from Mediaite: "Thanks to these experiments, Russia's former status as a superpower will be restored. Putin thinks of everything!"
The satellite, which also holds experiments involving mushrooms and fruit flies, is scheduled to return to Earth in September.
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