Sad news from Russia's Foton-M4 satellite. The spacecraft on which a group of geckos spent a few weeks trying to get it on in microgravity returned to Earth, as planned, earlier today. The only problem? The lizards were frozen solid. 
 
 As you might recall, there was some drama a few days after the space-bound gecko sex vessel was launched into orbit when Russia's mission control lost contact. Luckily, they eventually re-established a link and put the satellite into its proper orbit, allowing scientists to continue carrying out their research program. 
 
 But today, when the Russians opened up the capsule, what they found was a bunch of dead geckos. PhysOrg reports: 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 "Unfortunately all the geckos died," said the Roskosmos space agency in a brief statement. Interfax news agency later quoted an expert that worked on the mission as saying "that according to preliminary data it is becoming clear that the geckos froze" after their heating system failed. 
 
 Still the mission wasn't a complete failure. The fruit flies that accompanied the sex geckos survived and did manage to successfully reproduce in space. The invertebrates win again. 

 Five geckos sent into orbit to test the effect of weightlessness on the small lizards' sex lives have all died, the Russian space agency says Five geckos sent into orbit to test the effect of weightlessness on the small lizards' sex lives have all died, the Russian space agency said on Monday. 
 
 The Foton-M4 satellite on which the geckos spent the past month and a half returned to earth as planned on Monday and the various species travelling aboard were removed. 
 
 "Unfortunately all the geckos died," said the Roskosmos space agency in a brief statement. 
 
 Interfax news agency later quoted an expert that worked on the mission as saying "that according to preliminary data it is becoming clear that the geckos froze" after their heating system failed. 
 
 The fruit flies that were also travelling on the satellite, however, survived and had reproduced, Roskosmos said. 
 
 Roskosmos briefly lost control over the satellite following its launch, but was eventually able to restore contact and put the satellite in the proper orbit. 
 
 Explore further: Space sex geckos at risk as Russia loses control of satellite
– Oops. A Russian space mission meant to test the effect of weightlessness on the gecko's reproductive system didn't quite go as planned. It's not (necessarily) that the geckos weren't mating, it's that all five of them came back dead. And they weren't killed by zero gravity, but rather the satellite's failed heating system. That's right, the one male and four female geckos Russia sent into space in July didn't come back sexually frigid, they came back totally frozen, reports PhysOrg. Only days after launch, the Russians suffered the embarrassment of losing communications with the gecko sex satellite before re-establishing contact and putting it back in its intended orbit, reports io9. Not surprisingly, they didn't have much to say on the latest problem. "Unfortunately, all the geckos died," came the curt Roskosmos space agency statement. And in another blow to vertebrates, the fruit flies that were also on the mission managed to survive the freezing temps—and mate while they were at it. (No word yet as to the mushrooms also on board.)