Below is an excerpt from the February 17, 1970 edition of the New York Times that highlights a then-revolutionary study carried out by NASA, the Smithsonian Institute, several scientists and a cow elk.
An elk named Monique, Moe for short, and a space satellite named Nimbus have a radio rendezvous to keep later this week on a snow‐covered plain in Wyoming.
The 500‐pound female elk will be tranquilized by a drugged dart, fitted with a collar containing electronic gear and released to roam the national refuge with a herd of 7,000 other elk.
Then, in an experiment to study the migration habits of wildlife, a Nimbus weather satellite 700 miles overhead is scheduled to tune in twice a day on the elk. The animal’s collar transmitter is to report on the elk’s position, the air temperature around it, light intensity, altitude and the animal’s skin temperature.
Read the full article here.