Iran's next space mission announced

Iran is planning to send another research satellite into space by late March, the country's Aerospace Research Institute announced.

According to Mohammad Ebrahimi, an official at the institute, the Kavoshgar III (Explorer 3) will be launched into space to carry out research and study spatial subsystems, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

In November 2008, Iran sent into orbit the Kavoshgar II, which featured carrier and space-lab systems. It parachuted back to Earth after successfully completing its mission.

Earlier in the same year, the Kavoshgar I suborbital sounding rocket was launched to gather meteorological data.

Meanwhile, the director of Iran's Aerospace Research Institute, Mohsen Bahrami, said that Iran was also planning to send animals into space within the next two years.

Bahrami said the animals would be sent into space aboard Kavoshgars, which would act as a test for the country's plan to launch a manned space mission.