The Curious Case of the Wrong Monkey - Iran

Iran's announcement that it had successfully sent a monkey into space stirred questions on the Internet.

Curious people pointed to differences between official images of the primate before takeoff and after landing.

On January 28, official Iranian media published pictures of a monkey named Pishgam (Pioneer) prior to the launch.

The animal had light grey fur and a red mole above its right eye.

But later, the ISNA news agency released photos taken during presenting the monkey to the press after its landing which showed a darker fur and no mole.

These differences have been pointed out by Western media, which have questioned the success of the monkey space mission. A previous attempt by Iran, to send a primate into space, failed in 2011.

On Facebook, a comment underneath the monkey's pictures reads: the monkey "went into space and met a doctor who removed its mole," an ironic reference to some Iranians passion for cosmetic surgery (and misleading information regarding their scientific and aerospace capabilities).

Iranian authorities did not directly respond to these questions.