Nov 3, 1957: The Soviet space dog
51 years ago, on this day, the Soviet Union launches the first animal into space--a dog name Laika--aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft.
Laika, a part Siberian Husky b1tch, lived as a stray on the Moscow streets before being enlisted into the Soviet space program. Laika survived for several days as a passenger in the USSR's second artificial Earth satellite, kept alive by a sophisticated life-support system.
Electrodes attached to her body provided scientists on the ground with important information about the biological effects of space travel. She died after the batteries of her life-support system ran down.
Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, so Laika was doomed to die from the beginning. It sparked a debate across the globe on the mistreatment of animals to advance science. The mission was viewed by many, as a propaganda stunt.
In the United Kingdom, The National Canine Defence League called on all dog owners to observe a minute's silence, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) received protests even before the Soviet Union had finished announcing the mission's success. Animal rights groups at the time called on members of the public to protest at Russian embassies.
In the Soviet Union, there was no controversy, as the Soviet people perceived exploits and personal sacrifices as normal and neither the media, nor books in the following years, nor the public questioned the decision to send the dog into space to ultimately die.
In 1998, Oleg Gazenko, one of the leading scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die: "The more time passes, the more I am sorry about it. We did not learn enough from the mission to justify the death of a dog."
At least a dozen more Russian dogs were launched into space in preparation for the first manned Soviet space mission, and at least five of these dogs died in flight.
Laika's pioneering journey made her one of the most famous dogs in the world. A plaque commemorating fallen cosmonauts was unveiled at the Institute for Aviation and Space Medicine in Star City, Moscow in November 1997, and in one corner of the plaque there is an image of Laika. She has been pictured on several postage stamps in different countries around the world. Brands of chocolate and cigarettes were named in her honour as well as a large collection of memorabilia that continues to be sold at auctions today.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. He orbited Earth once before landing safely in the USSR.
