Historical overview of the Bion project.

The Bion project was initiated in 1970 and became the longest space research project in existence. Its primary goal was to perform theoretical and applied research on animals and other specimens flown onboard dedicated unmanned space vehicles, termed biosatellites. The Bion project included flights of 11 biosatellites carrying Wistar rats, rhesus monkeys, and other representatives of the animal and plant worlds. Scientists and engineers from many different countries have taken part in these Bion experiments.