Iran Says It Sent Monkey Into Space and Back

Iranian state TV is claiming that the country has successfully sent a monkey into space and back, bringing Iran one step closer to its goal of a manned space flight. According to the report, the rocket named Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, reached a height of 120km. From the article: "Iran has long said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of its ambitious aerospace program, including plans for a new space center announced last year. In 2010, Iran said it launched an Explorer rocket into space carrying a mouse, a turtle and worms."

Comments

Was it President Ahmadinejad?

[peter303]

Sometimes his policy explanations are as believable as a monkey's.

and apparently...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahmadinejad made it all the way back safely

Re:and apparently...

[slashmydots]

That, sir, is offensive to monkeys.

From a US citizen

[funky49]

Congrats Iran!

Stone age society develops space age technology

[Rogerborg]

Sounds like some sort of Flintstones / Jetsons crossover.

Re:Stone age society develops space age technology

[Anonymous Coward]

Unlike Iran, the USA could have rewritten some history books for the entire world, but all the information is freely available to anyone, regardless of gender or religion.

Also, in the USA, if you don't like the curriculum, you can homeschool your children, you can attend online course and there are literally thousands of colleges you can go to. No, let me go further than that, if you're from the USA, you have access to any and all democratic countries in the entire world.

If you really can't see the difference, I propose this simple experiment. Choose a subject you want to learn about. Find the most comprehensive courses available, then start slashing out anything that might be considered harmful to Iran or it's religion. When that's done, then remove all bits that don't make any sense. Next and final step, create ties that replace the removed pieces, that are showing Iran and it's religion in a positive light, and possibly anybody else (especially the USA) in a bad one. Then, write it as a book, and publish it as fantasy fiction, because no sane person in a free world would believe it to be true.

I'm not an American, I don't particularly care for them, but dismissing the entire nation and culture is wrong, narrowsighted, and possibly as dangerous as Iran and it's whole way of thinking.

Re:Stone age society develops space age technology

[ScentCone]

And that's different from the U.S. how?

You mean other than the fact that you don't run the risk of having the religious police give you trouble over your beard length, that you don't get locked up in prison for being insufficiently Muslim? That you can still say the word "pizza," which has been banned in that country for being too western? That little details like being sent to prison or even killed for having been raped tend to stand out? Or charming features of Iran's foreign policy such as backing the annihilation of a specific country on religious grounds, or the steady support of some of the worst medieval-minded terrorist groups in the world because they are such?

Never mind your completely spurious and disingenuous comparison of the school systems, or the fact that you just sitting here talking about it openly would - there - put in at risk of death in prison.

Woops! Here I am feeding a troll. Never mind.

They risked a valuable Monkey?

[Bocaj]

I'm surprised they didn't start with some something more disposable, like a woman. I'm sorry, but it just shocks me that a society can make this kind of technological achievement and still treat some humans as second class citizens.

Re:They risked a valuable Monkey?

[pr0t0]

You mean like when the United States sent Alan Shepard into space in 1961, but didn't pass the civil rights act until 1964? And it's not like the CRA ended racial discrimination.

Its probably not true

[Chrisq]

Its probably just to cover the news that their nuclear weapon research bunker was blown up.Don't look here, watch the monkey!

Re:Pigs in space!

[filthpickle]

While I am sure the parent was kidding...I have a friend who is only moderately stupid that firmly believes that the moon landings were faked. I found this a couple weeks ago, an interesting point of view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGXTF6bs1IU

We would have faked it...but actually doing it was easier at the time.

WHAT do THEY WANT?!!

[Thud457]

Super-intelligent monkey manipulates another nation-state into providing it with a free joyride into space.

I guess the propaganda is working.

[trout007]

From all of these anti-Iranian comments I guess the US propaganda is working well. Pretty soon you all we clamor for war and sign up to fight. It's amazing how people can hate those they never met.

Re:I guess the propaganda is working.

[medcalf]

You might be misunderstanding. Persians and Americans are actually natural allies: we both want a stable Persian Gulf region, and together could provide it, as we did prior to 1979. But the Ayatollahs running Iran at the moment, since 1979, want an unstable Persian Gulf region, because that gives them openings to advance their religious interests. So even though there is a natural underlying affinity on a national level, on a political level there can be only conflict. The hostage crisis, where Iranian thugs took captive American embassy staff for well over a year, has not been forgotten in the US, and it colors our perceptions of Iran, and specifically of their leadership, to this day. On top of that, you have the Iranians committing acts of war against the US in Iraq (not only supplying and training our enemies, but planning and sometimes participating directly in attacks) and in Saudi Arabia (Khobar Towers), as well as apparently developing a nuclear weapons program aimed directly at destroying a key US ally, Israel, and really, after all of that, does there need to be "propaganda" to explain why American attitudes towards the Iranian government are what they are?

All that said, yes, I generally despise theocrats I've never met, autocrats I've never met, dictators I've never met, and monarchs (other than titular only) that I've never met. I despise the enemies of human liberty generally. Is that really very amazing? And do you not also despise the enemies of liberty? Yet, why does that mean that I, or anyone else, is clamoring for war? It is possible to despise an ideology, and to attempt strenuously to oppose and in all ways limit that ideology, without clamoring for war. War is only necessary when irreconcilable differences over non-trivial differences exist. But just because we might not want war, does not mean we must start accepting those who would kill us if only they could.

Re:I guess the propaganda is working.

[klapaucjusz]

You might be misunderstanding. Persians and Americans are actually natural allies: we both want a stable Persian Gulf region, and together could provide it, as we did prior to 1979.

You are aware that the CIA put the Iranian dictator into power in 1953, toppling Iran's democratically-elected government in the process? The 1979 "Islamic Revolution" merely replaced a dictatorship controlled by the USA with one that wasn't.

Re:I guess the propaganda is working.

[Comrade Ogilvy]

On top of that, you have the Iranians committing acts of war against the US in Iraq (not only supplying and training our enemies, but planning and sometimes participating directly in attacks) and in Saudi Arabia (Khobar Towers), as well as apparently developing a nuclear weapons program aimed directly at destroying a key US ally, Israel, and really, after all of that, does there need to be "propaganda" to explain why American attitudes towards the Iranian government are what they are?

Secretary of Defense William Perry (at the time), the FBI, and Saudi Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef disagree with you about Khobar. The indictment in the US district court looks like a long list of Saudi citizens, and but a few others.

As for "acts of war" in Iraq, the US plays the same game all the time, including the selling weapons to Iranian enemies, e.g. Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. This kind of turnaround is only fair play.

You are clearly demonstrating the power American propaganda has over minds who should know better. It is very "interesting" how selective your memory happens to be.

Re:Pigs in space!

[Runaway1956]

Moderately stupid. I need to remember that one, it could be precious one day. "You Sir, are only moderately stupid! Why can't you see reason?"

Ahh yes, that's right

[Sycraft-fu]

If a western nation ever did anything bad, at any point in their history, that is remotely like something a non-western nation is doing today, well then the non-western nation gets a total pass. You can't criticize them because at one time something bad happened somewhere else!

This false moral equivalency bullshit is just retarded. Every country has done bad shit in the past. Every country does bad shit now. That doesn't mean that we cannot, or should not, point out when it happens. This idea that every country that isn't the US, or at least every country that isn't western gets an automatic pass on everything they do because of bad shit that happen sin other places is beyond stupid and counter productive.