Iran today said it had launched a rocket carrying a rodent, two turtles and some worms into orbit, claiming it as a successful advance in a space program. The official Islamic Republic News Agency said the home-built Kavoshgar-3, or Explorer-3 rocket was launched at a ceremony to commemorate this month's anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew Iran's monarchy.<br/><br/>IRNA said the rocket was designed to send consecutive aerial images to ground and measure environmental information. Press TV quoted Iranian space officials saying live video transmission and telemetry would allow further studies on the rat – named Helmz-1 – turtles and worms during their space voyage. The Fars news agency said later that the animals had returned to Earth and were being studied by scientists.