Researchers at Samara University named after Korolev have assembled the second multichannel temperature recorder - MRT-2 (the first recorder was used in 2014 on Foton-M No. 4 - editor's note www1.ru) from Russian components, which will then be sent into space aboard the domestic laboratory Bion-M2.
MRT-2 has successfully passed tests on Earth and is ready for installation on a spacecraft. The device is necessary to control the temperature in certain locations where biological objects are present. It is noted that the device will be placed on the outer surface of Bion-M2, but it is reliably protected from radiation.
Ground tests of MRT-2 as part of the biolaboratory will take place in the spring of 2024. Later, Bion-M2, along with mice, fruit flies, and bacteria on board, will be sent into orbit. The goal of the program is a comprehensive study of the effects of weightlessness and cosmic radiation on living organisms at the cellular and molecular levels.
Earlier, Roscosmos announced that they would launch Bion-M2 into orbit at an altitude of about 800 km by the end of July 2024. This will be the second scientific mission.