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posted by cmn32480 on Thursday October 29 2015, @01:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the in-soviet-russia-mars-monkey's-you dept.

Russian scientists are currently training macaques to solve puzzles and use a joystick for a planned 2017 trip to Mars:

Each day a team, led by Inessa Kozlovskaya, trains the monkeys to control a joystick and hit a target highlighted by a cursor.

When they complete the task successfully they are rewarded with a sip of juice.

Once they have mastered this task the macaques will be trained to solve simple mathematical tasks and puzzles.

At the end of their training the creatures should be capable of completing a daily schedule of tasks on their own.

[...] Macaques typically have a lifespan of around 25 years, so it is hoped there is enough time to train them properly and for them to survive the six-month trip to Mars, added the team.


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Nuke on Thursday October 29 2015, @07:57PM

    by Nuke (3162) on Thursday October 29 2015, @07:57PM (#256202)

    Problem is when those Martians jump to the conclusion that the monkeys represent the highest form of intelligence on Earth. Could take years to sort out the misundersanding.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:08PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:08PM (#256251)

    I doubt any monkey has done something as stupid as this purported space flight.