The C. Elegans -- which gained worldwide fame in 1998 after it became the first multi-celled animal to have its genome completely sequenced -- is part of an "Ice-first" project under which some 15 Canadian, French, Japanese and US scientists have joined forces.

A Soyuz rocket carrying American Edward Michael Fincke, Dutchman Andre Kuipers and Russia's Gennady Padalka successfully entered orbit minutes after its launch early Monday from Moscow's launch pad in Kazakhstan.

The rocket was expected to dock with the ISS on Wednesday.

The Ice-first project is one of 21 experiments that Kuipers, an astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA), would conduct over his nine-day mission at the station, his maiden voyage to space.

"The C. Elegans have a lot of common genes with humans, hence their importance for the scientists who had deciphered their complete genetic code," explained Nathaniel Szewczyk, a researcher with NASA's Ames Center, which is taking part in the project.

"If the worm spends 10 days exposed to cosmic radiation and weightlessness, it will be the equivalent of 10 years in space for a human," said Szewczyk, who had come to Russia's Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan to an improvised laboratory where some 20 scientists placed their precious samples of blood, bone and seed to be carried into space.

The information garnered from the experiment could be used to counter harmful radiation for long space flights to destinations like Mars, which would require up to a two-year-long voyage, he said.

The millimeter-long worms would for the most part be frozen upon their return to Earth and divided between the different laboratories participating in the project.

Radiation's effects on the worms' genetic stability would be for example examined in Canada, while US and French researchers would study the effects of weightlessness on the worms' muscles.

Japanese scientists would in turn would study aging processes, which had been noted to speed up in space.

Astronauts Padalka and Fincke are due to remain at the ISS for six months, and are to perform two space walks in June and August to install equipment necessary for the Jules Verne, a European-built new automated transfer vehicle, which is due to arrive at the station in April 2005.

They will replace American Michael Foale and Russian Alexander Kalery, who have been there since last October.

Kuipers will stay at the ISS for nine days before returning to Earth with Foale and Kalery on April 30.

SPACE.WIRE