An Iranian newspaper is reporting that the Islamic Republic plans to send another monkey into space within a month.

A report Sunday in the conservative daily Jomhuri Eslami quotes the deputy head of Iran�s space agency, Hamid Fazeli, as saying the planned launch is part of the country�s plans to send a human to space in 2018. Earlier this year, Iran claimed it launched a monkey out of the Earth�s atmosphere and successfully had it return.

Fazeli was quoted in Sunday�s article as saying animals with a similar weight as monkeys are under consideration as future space test subjects. In September, Iran suggested it may start launching Persian cats into space.

(AP)