As the Astronauts on the historic Artemis II mission prepare to reenter Earth’s atmosphere tomorrow, I’d like to take a moment today to pay tribute to the dogs, monkeys and even a cat who bravely led the way for human space exploration. Before humans could be sent into orbit, both the United States and the Soviet Union used animals to determine if space flight was even feasible. Sadly the tale of many of these animals is a tragic one. Therefore today we acknowledge their sacrifice that enabled humans to reach space!
The honor of the first insects to be sent from Earth into space goes to fruit flies! In 1947 the United States launched these insects on a V2 rocket which reached 68 miles in 3 minutes 10 seconds, past the Kármán line, which is considered to be the edge of space. The goal of this mission was to determine the effects of radiation exposure at high altitudes. These brave fruit flies, no bigger than a mustard seed, returned unharmed, and set the course for future space exploration.
It is a Rhesus monkey named Albert II, who was the first mammal to reach space. Rocketed 83 miles above the planet by the United States on a V2 in 1949, Albert II passed away during re-entry due to a problem with the capsule’s parachute. Anesthetized during flight and implanted with sensors to measure his vital signs, the information gained from his voyage led to more monkeys being sent into space by the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. However, as with Albert II, sadly many did not survive their mission. HAM, a chimpanzee launched on January 31, 1961, successfully completed tasks in space by manipulating levers, and safely landed. You can learn more about his mission in, “HAM: The First Astrochimp,” (The Micrograph, September 26, 2019).
According to “Animals in Space,” (Space.com, January 27, 2022) the first dogs to go to space were Tsygan and Dezik, who the Soviet Union had aboard the R-1 IIIA-1. Those brave “cosmomutts” reached space on July 22, 1951, but did not orbit. They did however experience weightlessness for 4 minutes before returning to Earth, 15 minutes later, safely with a parachute. These two dogs were the first mammals to survive spaceflight, and were rewarded with sausages and sugar!
The first mammal to orbit the Earth was a dog named Laika, on November 3, 1957, aboard the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 2. Sadly, this was a one way trip for Laika, who was used by scientists to monitor the affects of space travel on the body. Sent off with just one meal and enough oxygen for only 7 days, she passed away during that flight due to a malfunction that lead to extremely high temperatures in the capsule. As Cathleen Lewis, the curator of international space programs and spacesuits at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, explains, the use of animals in preparation for manned space flight was necessary because “there were things that we could not determine by the limits of human experience in high altitude flight.” In her article, “The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip into Orbit” (Smithsonian.com April 11, 2018), Alice George reflects, “Ironically, a flight that promised Laika’s certain death also offered proof that space was livable.” Years later, NASA paid tribute to this brave dog during a 2005 Mars Rover mission by naming a Martian crater Laika.
After Laika, all future missions that included dogs and other animals were designed to be recoverable. On August 19, 1960, the Soviet Union sent two more dogs, Belka and Strelka, into space. They hold the distinction of being the first animals to return alive after orbiting the Earth. Humans did not attempt this brave feat until 1961. It was two Russian dogs, Veterok and Ugolyok, who held the record for the most days orbiting in space. In 1966 they spent 22 days orbiting the Earth in a Voskhod space capsule, a record that wasn’t broken by humans until 1971.
Also, in case anyone is curious, the first cat was launched into space by French scientists on October 18, 1963. Fortunately Félicette made it safely back to Earth, and holds the distinction of being the only cat to be sent into space. You can learn more about her suborbital flight in “The Story of Félicette, the First Cat in Space,” (BBC Sky at Night Magazine, October 14, 2022).
Sadly the tale of many of these animals is a tragic one. Therefore, as we await the return to Earth of the Astronauts on the Artemis II mission to the far side of the Moon, let’s all pause to reflect upon and thank the heroic animals who led the way for space exploration.
