SpaceX Successfully Delivers 'Mighty Mice' To International Space Station

The SpaceX Dragon, a cargo spacecraft developed by TSLA founder Elon Musk with his company SpaceX, successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday, according to CNBC.

What Happened

Luca Parmitano, commander of the ISS, used a large robot arm to capture the SpaceX Dragon on Sunday, Dec. 8.

“Whenever we welcome a new vehicle on board, we take on board also a little bit of the soul of everybody that contributed to the project, so welcome on board,” said the Italian astronaut Luca, according to the CNBC report.

The Dragon launched on Thursday, Dec. 5 was carrying over 5,700 pounds of NASA cargo, including 40 mice for a muscle and bone experiment. Of the 40 mice, eight were genetically engineered to have twice the normal muscle mass, hence the name “mighty mice,” according to the CNBC report.

The SpaceX Dragon also delivered a “friendly” robot called CIMON-2 that would serve the astronauts for the next three years. Among other supplies were 120,000 roundworms that, the report said, would be used for an agricultural study for pest control on the Earth.

What’s Next

Sunday's docking marks SpaceX's 19th Nasa cargo delivery to the International Space Station, said the CNBC report.

The company successfully delivered cargo to the space station almost every time, except for once in 2015, when a SpaceX Falcon rocket exploded.

Photo Credit: SpaceX Official Site