Iran Announces Plans to Launch Second Monkey into Space

Iran space officials announced Saturday plans to send a monkey into space within a month.

According to country officials, the mission is part of an ongoing effort to develop the technology needed to launch a manned spacecraft within a decade.

The Iran Space Agency (ISA) previously launched a monkey into space in January, though its claims that it brought the animal safely back to Earth were called into question when a different monkey was displayed to the media after the landing.

According to Deputy Head of ISA Hamid Fazeli, the monkey will be launched aboard a liquid-fuel carrier, the Iranian website PressTV reports .

"The second live animal will be ready within a month to be sent into space," the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper cited Fazeli as saying. However, the official refrained from offering a specific date for the launch.

Iran launched its first satellite in 2009, which was followed a year later by a bio-capsule containing live animals. In 2011, the nation placed an orbiter in space designed to take images of Earth. Iranian officials announced plans earlier this week to launch three satellites by the end of the Iranian year, or March 2014.

Some Western governments have cited concerns over Iran's space program, accusing the country of being more concerned with developing the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead than to explore space. Iran, which was among one of the founding members of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space back in 1959, denies such claims.

According to the AFP, Iran blames delays on the launch due to financial problems stemming from Western-led sanctions.

"The decrease in the country's total revenue, and thus the budget, has impacted our space-related activities," Akbar Torkan, the interim chief of Iran's space organization, was quoted as telling the official IRNA news agency.