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They were intended to be among the first animals to join the 350-mile-high club, but now a group of geckos sent into space to reproduce may be at risk.

The five lizards - four male and one female - launched on a research satellite on 19 July to study the effects of weightlessness on their sex lives.

But Russian space officials have now revealed that the Foton-M4 satellite is not responding to commands, and there are fears the mission may be lost.

A satellite containing five geckos is feared out of control. The five lizards are flying in the Gecko-F4 experiment aboard the satellite (shown). They are being observed to see how their bodies and sexual behaviour are affected by microgravity. Their habitat, monitored by video camera, has enough food for two months

The Foton-M series of satellites are a continuation of the Russian Bion spacecraft, which are intended to observe the effects of space travel on different species.

Aside from geckos this particular satellite also has other biological experiments on board including fruit flies and mushrooms from both Russia and Germany.

The two-month mission was planned to monitor by video how well the geckos sexually reproduce in space before returning them safely to Earth.

Following the launch, the satellite was failing to respond to commands to start its engine and move to a higher orbit, according to the Progress space firm.

However the rest of its systems are operating nominally, which means the animals on board are still alive.

'The equipment which is working in automatic mode, and in particular the experiment with the geckos is working according to the programme,' said Oleg Voloshin, a spokesman of Russia's Institute of Medico-Biological Problems, which is running the experiment.

Progress said the design of the Foton-M4 'allows for the functioning of the satellite in automatic mode for a long time.'

The biological experiment launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last week is feared lost. Ground controllers are unable to communicate with the Foton-M4 satellite (illustration shown). The Foton series of satellites are designed to perform biological experiments in space

A space expert cited by Interfax said that in its current orbit the satellite could stay up in space as long as three or four months.

Regaining control over the satellite's engine will be needed to ensure its controlled return to Earth as planned in two months to recover the geckos for further study.

At the moment the spacecraft is stuck in an orbital height of about 155 miles (250 kilometres).

The original mission specification, however, called for the spacecraft to be raised to an altitude of 357 miles (575 km).

But the planned burn to get the spacecraft to this height did not occur after the launch due to a malfunction, leaving it stuck in a lower orbit.

Ground controllers are now rushing to try and regain communication, as it's unknown how long it can survive at this lower orbit with atmospheric drag.

If control is regained, the capsule will re-enter Earth's atmosphere in mid-September and land via parachute in southern Russia.

Failure to do so will mean it will be unlikely that the animals on board can be returned alive to Earth.

A similar fate befell gerbils, mice and fish aboard a Russian Bion-M satellite last year, which crashed shortly after launch.

Pictured is the launch of the satellite on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur in the early hours of 19 July. Aside from geckos this particular satellite also has other biological experiments on board including fruit flies and mushrooms. It is a continuation of Russia's Bion series of satellites, which are also designed to perform biological experiments in space