Laika was the first dog sent to space by Soviet Union in 1957. The objective was to test out if living things could survive in space. Four years after Laika's experiment, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to go to space successfully.
Laika was honored, stamp and statue were made
after her, and she was immortalized in memory for her contribution to science
and space exploration.
It's all good, right?
Read on.
- Laika, her original name was Kudryavka (Little
Curly), called Laika (barker) after she was introduced to the public via
radio. Laika was chosen from the street; she was a
stray dog and didn't even have a home. They chose stray dogs because they were
deemed to be tougher.
- Laika went to space in Sputnik 2, a washing-machine-sized
satellite. There were size requirements when Laika, Mushka and Albina were
shortlisted. Laika was chosen because she was calmer and more docile.
One of the biggest challenges in bringing a stray dog
to home or any indoor setting is, even though their lives on the street are
tough, they get used to freedom. Initially, it would be hard for them to be
confined indoors, despite having walks, playtime etc.
In addition to being brought indoors, Laika
was also purposely confined in cages to 'increase' her adaptation level for
the limited space of Sputnik 2. She spent a long time in the cage, confined for up to
20 days, then she was moved to an even smaller cage, repeat. Some dogs even
developed constipation, refused to relieve themselves even when they had been
fed laxatives. In Sputnik 2, Laika was chained so that she could only sit or lie
down; she didn't have enough space to turn around.
- It's a one-way mission; Laika was sent to her death. There was no
provision or possibility for her to come back safely. Initially, the plan was to
accommodate a possible safe return, but the project was given a deadline and they
had to scratch that possibility. Sputnik 2 was required by the leader, Nikita
Khrushchev, to go off at the 40th Anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. According to
one of the scientists, all the tradition developed in rocket technology was
thrown out; they often worked without a blueprint.
- The day before launch, Laika was brought home by the scientist who
had picked her from the street, trained her and chose her to go to space. She
experienced a home, something she had never known about before her imminent
death. She was three-years-old.
- But Laika was not launched on that day. There was a malfunction, she
had to spend three more days inside the spacecraft, in freezing cold
temperature, unable to move. The scientist tried to keep her warm by setting up
a hose.
- When it was finally launched, Laika was terrified; her heartbeat and
breathing speed were recorded as three times higher and four times faster. When
she was weightless, she became calmer, but the heart rate never went back to
normal.
- Laika died within seven hours in excruciating pain. The temperature
control malfunctioned and went past 40 degrees Celcius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).
Her heart started to race again and became faster and faster until the
scientists couldn't pick it up anymore. She died during her fourth circuit around
the earth. Initially, the report was falsified, that Laika survived for nine
days and was euthanized humanely by eating poisoned dog food. The truth only came
out much later in 2002.
- Her body disintegrated upon entering the earth, five months and 2,570
orbits later. Her body never touched the earth.
- Remember when it was mentioned that Laika's trip was for 'good cause'?
Sadly, they didn't learn much from the trip. The trip was more symbolic than
scientific. It was done to prove that living things could survive being sent to
space and Soviet was the first one to do it. Laika's control dog, Mushka, was
sent to space too later with various other animals, and the rocket was
detonated because when it malfunctioned and went off trajectory, the Soviet
worried that it would fall into enemy territories.
