1980s
The Soviet Union sent eight monkeys into space in the 1980s on Bion flights. In 1985, the U.S. sent two squirrel monkeys aboard Spacelab 3 on the space shuttle with 24 male albino rats and stick insect eggs. Bion flights also flew zebra danio, fruit flies, rats, stick insect eggs and the first newts in space.
Bion 7 (1985) had 10 newts (Pleurodeles waltl) on board. The newts had part of their front limbs amputated to study the rate of regeneration in space, knowledge to understand human recovery from space injuries.
After an experiment was lost in the Challenger disaster, chicken embryos (fertilized eggs) were sent into space in an experiment on STS-29 in 1989. The experiment was designed for a student contest.
Read more about this topic: Animals In Space