I can't resist a good, catchy headline...

so when I see a headline like today's "Russia to launch 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies on Aug. 20 to study spaceflight effects" I kinda just have to go with it.  The way the article starts just adds to it.

Russia is preparing to loft a "miniature mouse hotel" into space. 

Accompanied by a photograph of what I have to assume is the miniature mouse hotel.  To me, it looks way too small for 75 mice, and there has to be many more of these IF that's really what this is. 

Note that I think they can't call it the Mini Mouse Hotel because of possible copyright issues with the name Minnie Mouse.  Those guys in the House of the Mouse are pretty serious about not letting just anyone use their Intellectual Property (IP).  

The Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite is being readied for its planned Aug. 20 launch atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Onboard are 75 mice and other specimens to be exposed to 30 days of radiation before a parachute-aided return to Russia.

Bion-M No. 2 is being dubbed a "Noah's Ark," because it's loaded with the mice, more than 1,000 fruit flies, cell cultures, microorganisms and plant seeds.

As you probably expect, the Bion-M No. 2 satellite indicates there was a No. 1 that was the leader of this sort of research.  The Bion-M No. 1 spacecraft launched in April 2013. That spacecraft also remained in Earth orbit for 30 days but flew on a different orbit.  No. 2's orbit is planned to be a polar orbit at an inclination of 97 degrees, which will increase the amount of cosmic radiation the craft will be exposed to by at least an order of magnitude. 

Technicians work on the Bion-M No. 2 mission. (Image credit: Roscosmos)

Scientists have prepared three groups of mice. The first group will live in familiar conditions here on Earth. The second group will live in a ground laboratory in flight equipment, serving as a control group. The third group of mice will spend 30 days in orbit.

Researchers will receive real-time data on the condition of the rodents using special cameras and sensors inside the boxes that contain them. Each mouse-carrying unit is outfitted with feeding, lighting, ventilation and waste-disposal systems. Chips will be implanted in some rodents. 

After the 30 day mission, when the Bion-M No.2 vehicle has returned to Earth, researchers will study how well the mice adapted to space and readapted to life on Earth post-flight.  I don't see any mention of plans for an increase in the number of mice during the mission or mention of preventing such an increase.

Roscosmos noted that the mission will assist scientists in appraising how spaceflight affects living organisms, in an environment where radiation levels are approximately 30% higher than other near-Earth orbits. This type of data is viewed as central to prepare humans for long-distance spaceflight.