A group of 'super moustronauts' with remarkable abilities was yesterday launched into space.

These mice lack a gene that normal mice have, called Muscle Ring Finger 1 (MuRF-1), which causes muscles to deteriorate.

Scientists hope that by analysing the super mice in microgravity, they will be able to create drugs for use by humans to prevent muscle loss on Earth.

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A group of 'super moustronauts' was yesterday launched into space with remarkable abilities.These mice lack a gene that normal mice have, called Muscle Ring Finger 1 (MuRF-1), which causes muscles to deteriorate. Pictured is a mouse on a model of the ISS

The 10 mice are the first mammals, excluding humans, to spend a month in space. The typical stay for mice for previous missions has been around two weeks.

MuRF-1 is responsible for marking proteins for destruction in both human and mouse muscles. It also plays a key role in accelerated muscle loss through ageing and other chronic diseases.

For their mission, Nasa has created special homes for the mice to live in on the space station, which include systems to stop their food and water from floating around.

'By flying a mouse, whose typical lifespan is much shorter than humans', you can follow the course of bone and muscle loss over a much greater percentage of the mouse lifespan than you can in humans,' Michael Roberts, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space's senior research manager, told Francie Diep at Popular Science.

Nasa has created special homes for the mice to live in on the space station, which include systems to stop their food and water from floating around

THE ANIMAL SPACE RACE Six national space programs have so far flown animals into space: the Soviet Union, the United States, France, China, Japan and Iran. They were used as surrogates to test the suitability of the space environment for human habitation. Fruit flies were the first animals to be sent into orbit when they were put on board a U.S.-launched V-2 rocket on February 20, 1947. Two years later, Albert II, a Rhesus Monkey, became the first monkey to go into space. In November 1957 Russia sent Laika the dog into orbit aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Then, on January 31, 1961, Ham became the first chimpanzee launched into outer space as part of the Nasa space programme. Advertisement

This is of particular interest to space agencies who are racing to get the first humans on Mars. Any astronaut undertaking the journey will need to spend long stretches in space.

However, microgravity in space means that astronauts no longer need to use certain muscles, causing them to slowly waste away.

'Muscles are the storage space for amino acids, the only reservoir for them,' said Sam Cadena, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research program manager. 'If you lose muscle, you lose health.'

As well as the mice, Sunday's cargo shipment to the ISS included a 3D printer, a device for measuring Earth's ocean winds, 30 fruit flies and metal samples for a golf club manufacturer.

Much-needed spacesuit batteries are on board as well, along with the usual supply of food, clothes and electronic gear.