November 3 - on this day in 1957, the Soviet Union successfully sends the first creature into space - a dog named Laika - aboard the spacecraft Sputnik 2.
When the Cold War space race began, both the USSR and the United States aimed to send a human into space, but little was known about the effects of space travel on biological structures. Thus, Laika served as a guinea pig for future human cosmonauts, being sent aboard Sputnik-2 with electrodes attached to her body. These monitored the effects of space radiation on her organs. This dog was the first animal to travel to the cosmos. The Soviet Union was very good at creating superstar cosmonauts, regardless of their species.
Laika, a Siberian husky, was a stray dog that lived on the streets of Moscow before 'joining' the Soviet space program. Laika survived for several days on the Soviet second artificial Earth satellite, maintaining her existence by an extremely complex life support system. Its body-mounted electrodes provide scientists on the ground with important information about the biological effects of space travel. Laika died after the life support system ran out of energy.
More than twelve dogs were launched into space by the Soviet Union in preparation for its first manned space mission, and at least five of these dogs died in flight. On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. He orbited the Earth once before landing safely in the Soviet Union. Shove.
Info Source : www.history.com, The Milky Way Documents
November 3, 1957: The Soviet Union sends the first creature into space
