Hamster takes trip into the stratosphere on flying balloon for science

A hamster has safely landed after being sent up into the stratosphere on a flying balloon.

Iwaya Giken, the company behind the daring experiment, placed the hamster in an airtight container with the same atmospheric pressure and temperature as the ground.

The rodent could be seen looking out at the scenery below as it flew into the sky reaching a maximum altitude of 14 miles.

It was recovered from the sea just off Japan's Miyako Island.

The test flight was to give consumers confidence about potential manned space travel in the future.

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