Deaths of More Baby Rats on Shuttle Prompt Protest

HOUSTON — More baby rats have died aboard space shuttle Columbia, prompting a protest Tuesday from an animal rights group that accused NASA of having an “appalling record” in animal research.

NASA’s chief veterinarian, Joseph Bielitzki, said 50 rats had died aboard Columbia because of maternal neglect, an increase from the 45 deaths reported Monday. Mother rats weren’t drinking enough water, and they shunned the young animals or simply did not produce enough milk, Bielitzki said.

The deaths account for more than half of the 96 baby rats that were launched aboard Columbia 1 1/2 weeks ago. They are test subjects for experiments to learn about how the absence of gravity affects the development of the brain and nervous system.

The deaths drew harsh criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Richard Linnehan, the veterinarian aboard Columbia, said Tuesday that several sick rats had improved after being fed a Gatorade-and-water mixture. Some also have been moved to different mothers, he said.

Mission scientists said they would share tissue samples from the remaining rats, brain parts in particular, to salvage their experiments. Most of the animals are to be killed for dissection either in space or after the return to Earth.

While Linnehan continued to tend to the animals, two of his crew mates participated in the first of several experiments in which a hair-like electronic needle is inserted into their knees. The test measures blood pressure control and blood flow in weightlessness.

Shuttle managers, meanwhile, decided Tuesday to delay the next shuttle launch to Mir by five days until June 2.