| Mission type | Microgravity research |
|---|---|
| Operator | Roskosmos ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2005-020A[1] |
| SATCATno. | 28686 |
| Mission duration | 16 days[2] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Foton-M |
| Launch mass | 600 kilograms (1,300 lb) |
| Payload mass | 385 kilograms (849 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 31 May 2004, 12:00:00 (2004-05-31UTC12Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 16 June 2004 (2004-06-17) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.00308 |
| Perigee altitude | 261 kilometres (162 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 302 kilometres (188 mi) |
| Inclination | 63º |
| Period | 93 minutes |
Foton-M No.2 was an unmannedFoton-Mspacecraft which carried a Europeanpayload for theEuropean Space Agency (ESA). It was placed into orbit by a RussianSoyuz-U rocket launched at 12:00 UTC on 20 June 2005 from theBaikonur Cosmodrome inKazakhstan by theRussian Space Agency (RKA). The Foton-M No.2 mission was a replacement for the failedFoton-M No.1 mission, which was lost in a launch failure on 15 October 2002.
The 600-kilogram (1,300 lb) payload carried by the spacecraft included 385 kilograms (849 lb) of experiments; consisting of 39 experiments influid physics,biology,material science,meteoritics,radiation dosimetry andexobiology (BIOPAN-5). Some of the experiments were designed by the ESA's student programme.
One notable experiment tested the ability oflichen to survive in space. It was successful, as the lichen survived over 14 days of exposure to space.
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