Space mice and robotic avatars headed for the International Space Station

Nasa astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan stow biological research samples into a science freezer located inside the US Destiny laboratory module. — Nasa/TNS

Space mice, radiation vests, robotic avatars and recycling polymers for 3D printers were among the science experiments bound for the International Space Station (ISS) on the latest commercial resupply mission from Virginia, the United States.

Northrop Grumman’s 12th robotic mission – and its first under a new Nasa contract – launched on Nov 2, from the state-owned Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.