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Moldy Mouse Food Delays SpaceX Station Supply Mission

File photo of a laboratory rat. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Moldy mouse food has delayed a Tuesday SpaceX launch of about 5,800 pounds of supplies and science bound for the International Space Station.

NASA is sending about 40 mice and other science experiments to the station. But during final preparations, mission managers say technicians discovered contaminated food bars meant for the space-bound rodents. The agency says it will delay the launch one day.

Technicians will use the extra time to replace the food bars with fresh ones and prep the mice for their journey.

The space agency pays private companies like SpaceX and Northrop Grumman to ship supplies to the orbiting outpost.

SpaceX and NASA are targeting a launch Wednesday from Cape Canaveral at 1:16 p.m ET.

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Brendan Byrne is WMFE's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the WMFE newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing WMFE's internship program.

Byrne also hosts WMFE's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration.