An unmanned Russian Progress space freighter lifted off Monday at 1909 GMT from the world's biggest launch centre in Baikonur, Kazakhstan to bring supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz rocket's cargo also included 50 snails, as part of a scientific experiment to study the effects of weightlessness, and 2.5 tonnes of assorted cargo for the outpost, space officials in Moscow said. Studies of the snails should shed light on the effects of zero gravity on the human vestibular system in space. The specimens will return to the Earth in late April with the current crew of the station, NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, who have been working in orbit since October. As well as additional food, water, oxygen and fuel, the freighter will also bring the crew some jazz CDs and DVD recordings of films and musicals from the 1970s, ground support staff said. The craft is due to dock automatically late Wednesday. --SP 2343 Local Time 2043 GMT
