Russia's sex geckos lost in space

Five geckos, sent into space for a study on the effects of weightlessness on sexual intercourse, have died in service according to a statement released by Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos.

The scientists discovered the four female geckos and one male had died when their craft returned to earth on Monday afternoon.

"All the geckos, unfortunately, died," said the Roscosmos statement. The exact date, time and cause of death will be determined by specialists in Moscow, Roscosmos said in a joint news release with Russia’s Institute of Medico-Biological Problems on Monday.

Fruit files, which were also on the satellite “got through the flight quite well, grew and bred,” according to the Itar-Tass news agency. A representative from the institute said, “It’s still too early to talk about the geckos’ cause of death.”

However, the news agency Interfax reported that the geckos died due to hypothermia, according to an unnamed source: “Most likely, this happened due to a failure of the equipment meant to ensure the temperature of the box with the animals.”

The research satellite Foton-M4 was launched into space on July 19 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. The geckos were among several species on board that were part of a series of biology experiments conducted by the institute on the effects of weightlessness on mating.

The geckos gained fame soon after launch when scientists lost contact with the satellite on July 24. Contact was re-established and the experiment continued.

Al Jazeera and wire services