Other Spacefaring Animals
Laika was the first to orbit the Earth, but she was far from the only animal sent into space.
Some of these stories are just as sad as our dear Laika’s, yet some have much happier endings. Many of them have her to thank for their success – Laika showed the world the worth of these wonderful animals who unwillingly help us to further scientific discovery.
Félicette
The writing reads: “Thank you for your participation in my success of 18 October 1963”
Félicette
Wanting to catch up with the rest of the world and make a name for themselves in space travel, the French space program decided to send a cat into space. Félicette, a stray Parisian cat, became the first feline launched into space on October 18, 1963. She survived her journey and made it back home to Earth, but was sadly euthanized two months later so her brain could be examined. Scientists did not learn anything from this procedure.
Albert II
Albert II
Albert II, a rhesus macaque monkey, was the first mammal to travel to outer space, and the first living being besides fruit flies. US scientists launched him aboard a V-2 sounding rocket on June 14, 1949. Upon re-entry, there was a parachute failure that caused the rocket to hit the ground at high speed, killing Albert upon impact.
Tsygan (left) and Dezik (right)
Dezik and Lisa
Dezik, Tsygan, and Lisa
Dezik and Tsygan were the first two dogs to fly into space. The first Soviet space dogs were launched into sub-orbital flight on July 22, 1951. They reached a height of 68 miles (110 km) and experienced weightlessness for four minutes before falling back to Earth with a parachute. They both survived, also making them the first mammals to survive spaceflight. Sergei Krolev, the lead Soviet rocket engineer, was so happy with their survival that when they landed, he grabbed them and ran around with them before giving them water, sausages, and sugar as a treat.
Later in the same year, Dezik went to space again, becoming the first living being to travel to space twice. This time, she went with a dog named Lisa. Sadly, the both perished when their parachute failed to deploy on re-entry. After Dezik’s death, Tsygan was retired and allowed to live the rest of her life as a beloved pet.
Belka (left) and Strelka (right)
Belka and Strelka
Possibly the two most well-known space dogs aside from Laika, Belka and Strelka followed in Laika’s orbital space travel legacy. On August 19, 1960, they became some of the first Earth-born living organisms to survive orbital space travel, spending a day in orbit aboard Korabl-Sputnik 2, also known as Sputnik 5. They both retired after the mission.
Ham the chimp
Ham
Ham the chimpanzee was the first great ape launched into space. Known as “No. 61” before his successful flight, he was trained to be able to complete basic tasks to test his ability to do so in spaceflight. Training involved using electric shocks to the soles of his feet when he failed to complete the task on time, and rewarding him with banana pellets when he succeeded. He survived his mission and went on to live the rest of his life in the National Zoo and later the North Carolina Zoo.
