Bion-M No.2

Bion-M No.2 (Russian: Бион-М) is a planned Russian space mission, part of the Bion programme focused on space medicine. This second generation Bion-M continues the biological research in space. The prior spacecraft in the series, Bion-M No.1, was launched in 2013. The Bion-M spacecraft are designed to carry biological, physiological and biotechnological experiments to low Earth orbit and return them to Earth at the end of the mission.^[3]

Bion-M No. 2

Names	Бион-М
Mission type	Biological research
Operator	Institute of Biomedical Problems Russian Academy of Sciences
Mission duration	6 months (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Bion-M No.2
Spacecraft type	Bion
Bus	Zenit (bus) Yantar (propulsion)[1]
Manufacturer	RKTs Progress
Launch mass	6,300 kg (13,900 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	March 2025 (planned)[2]
Rocket	Soyuz 2.1b
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 31/6
Contractor	RKTs Progress
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	1,000 km (620 mi)
Apogee altitude	1,000 km (620 mi)
Bion programme ← Bion-M No.1 Bion-M No.3 →

Satellite description

The satellite has components from two long-standing Soviet spy satellite families. Bion's landing unit is from the Zenit 2M satellite and the satellite also carries an instrument section developed for the Yantar satellite. The satellite was made by TsSKB Progress of Samara, Russia.^[1]

Launch

The animal-carrying space capsule will be launched into orbit by a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan no earlier than March 2025.^[2][4]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• Effect of spaceflight on the human body