![]() A chimpanzee named Ham was part of the US-led Mercury space programme. ![]() On 31 January 1961, the first hominid was launched into space. In the 1950s, the US and the Soviet Union launched a total of 12 dogs on various suborbital flights, Laika being the first. Two other monkeys, Albert III and IV also died when their rockets failed.Ī mouse was launched into space on 15 August 1950 but did not survive the return journey. On 4 June 1949, Albert II became the first monkey in space, but he died on reentry when the parachute to his capsule failed. ![]() These species include rhesus macaques, squirrel monkeys and pig-tailed monkeys. To date, a total of 32 monkeys have flown in space. There have been multiple speculations about the real cause of her death, but whatever the actual cause was, people still see Laika’s story with pity for the poor dog.As well as the fruit flies and Laika, since the 1940s, a variety of animals have been sent into space including ants, cats, frogs, and even jellyfish. For many years, the Soviet Union gave conflicting statements that she had died either from asphyxia, when the batteries failed, or that she had been euthanized. It was said that the Soviet scientists had planned to euthanize Laika with a poisoned serving of food. Sputnik 2 burned up in the upper atmosphere in April 1958. It is unknown exactly how long Laika lived in orbit - perhaps a few hours or a few days - until the power to her life-support system gave out. A re-entry strategy could not be worked out in time for the launch. ![]() The launch was in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, meaning the Soviet scientists had insufficient time to perfect the life-support system because of the intense political pressure of the launch of Sputnik 2.ĭue to the lack of adequate development time, no provisions were made to recover Laika. THE LAUNCH OF SPUTNIK 2 AND DEMISE OF OUR FIRST SPACE DOG The dogs did not like the devices, and to avoid using them, some retained bodily waste, even after consuming laxatives. Testers fitted candidates with a sanitation device connected to the pelvic area. The doctors also checked their reactions to changes in air pressure and to loud noises that would accompany liftoff. Laika was spun in a centrifuge to accustom her to changes in gravitation, and she learned to accept food in a jellied form that could be easily served in an environment of weightlessness. They trained for life on board the satellite by learning to accept progressively smaller living spaces. They were the three dogs who were trained for space travel by being kept in small cages and learning to eat a nutritious gel that would be their food in space. The third dog, Mushka, was a “control dog” - she was to stay on the ground and be used to test instrumentation and life support. Albina, who had already flown twice on a high-altitude test rocket, was to act as Laika’s backup. Laika was to be the “flight dog” - a sacrifice to science on a one-way mission to space. Finally, Vladimir Yazdovsky made the final selection of dogs and their designated roles. There was a wide search for dogs and they had a couple to choose from. Soviet scientists assumed that a stray dog would be the perfect test subject because they would have already learned to endure harsh conditions of hunger and cold temperatures. (The name Laika is derived from the Russian-language word for “bark.”) She was rescued from the streets of Moscow. Laika was young, a two-year-old husky mix.
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