Laika, the Russian space dog, rests comfortably inside the Soviet satellite Sputnik II in preparation of becoming the first living creature to orbit the earth. And in 1960, Soviets launched the Sputnik 5 spacecraft carrying the dogs Belka and Strelka-as well as several other creatures and plants-which became the first mission to successfully launch animals into orbit and return them home alive. ![]() In fact, the first dogs to reach space-Tsygan and Dezik-aboard the Russian R-1 IIIA-1 spacecraft on Jwere also the first large animals to successfully survive a space mission. The Soviets were particularly fond of sending canines into space, using several dogs in orbital and suborbital flights during the 1950s and 1960s. DogsĪside from the achievements of Laika, several other records in animal spaceflight are held by dogs. ![]() This was the final Apollo mission which is also notable for being the last that time humans have traveled beyond low-Earth orbit. Among the most notable landmarks, five mice orbited the moon in 1972 aboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft. Since then, these animals have frequently been used by various space agencies in numerous experiments due to their suitability for scientific research. The first mouse was sent into space on Augaboard a V-2 rocket. The mission was successful and Ham returned safely to Earth sporting only minor injuries. Ham was launched into suborbital flight in January 1961 by the U.S., becoming the first hominid in space. and Russia, including Ham the chimp who was trained to perform tasks in his spacecraft. In the decades after this initial flight, more than 30 types of primates were flown into space by the U.S. While Albert survived the majority of the flight-becoming the first mammal, and indeed vertebrate, in space-he was killed when the rocket collided with the ground on re-entry. Just a year later in June, American scientists launched a rhesus monkey known as Albert II into space aboard another V-2 rocket reaching an altitude of 83 miles. After passing the Kármán line at 62 miles high-the commonly accepted boundary of Earth's atmosphere-these flies became the first animals to enter outer space. launched fruit flies to an altitude of around 68 miles above the Earth aboard a captured German V-2 rocket in order to study the effects of radiation exposure in living organisms. To celebrate the anniversary of Laika's launch, here is a list of all the animals that have been sent into space: Flies However, living creatures are still used in space missions for other research purposes. Once manned spaceflights became normalized, space agencies did not need to send so many animals into space. Sadly, many of these animals were killed during such missions, but the lessons learned were crucial in paving the way for the first human spaceflights in 1961, according to NASA. 'Massive Monster Galaxy' from Early Universe Discovered by Astronomers.Hygiea: Enormous Asteroid Is Actually a Tiny Dwarf Planet, Scientists Say.Hubble Spots 'Ghostly Face' In 'Titanic' Collision of Two Massive Galaxies. ![]() A main part of the mission was to test whether tasks could be performed in space, the results of which were instrumental when launching the first American in space, Alan Shepard, on. 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. 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.
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