Five mice of this species travelled to and orbited the Moon 75 times in an experiment on board the Apollo 17 command module in December 1972.

[2] Six other little pocket mice were sent into orbit with Skylab 3 in July 1973, though these animals died only 30 hours into the mission due to a power failure.

[3][4] This small mouse, with a long tail, inhabits arid and semiarid habitats with grasses, sagebrush and other scrubby vegetation.

It sleeps in winter and is only active between April and November with numbers building up rapidly in the spring, peaking in June and July.

The population appears to be steady and no particular threats have been identified for this species so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of "least concern".