![]() ![]() A test with two dogs would allow for more accurate results. Dogs were chosen over monkeys because it was felt that they would be less fidgety in flight. Eventually they chose small dogs for this phase of testing. “They needed to gather data to design a cabin to carry a human being into space. Soviet rocket scientist Sergei Korolev, along with his team, used research from the American Biomedical research to experiment on mice, rats, and rabbits as one-way passengers. The United States launched rhesus monkeys, mice, fruit flies, and rats during the second world war, with the Soviets keeping close tabs on what the rival was doing with their V-2 and Aerobee missile projects (which sent rhesus monkeys). However, the dogs before Laika were used only during sub-orbital launches. ![]() “The contenders also had to be female (easier to rig up) and brightly colored (so video footage of them would be clearer),” NASA reported.ĭespite Laika’s fame, she also was not the first dog in space, as the Soviet Union had launched two dogs named Dezik and Tsygan in 1951 before that. Soviet rocket scientists wanted to send dogs to space to understand microgravity and other aspects of what spaceflight might do to a human body. According to US space agency NASA, “American and Russian scientists utilised animals - mainly monkeys, chimps, and dogs - in order to test each country’s ability to launch a living organism into space and bring it back alive and unharmed.” Before humans actually went to space, one of the theories was that humans might not be able to survive long periods of weightlessness. It was not just the Soviet Union that experimented with animals. The mission wanted female dogs as they were considered anatomically better suited for close confinement.īut why did the Soviet Union want to send animals to space? According to a report by Associated Press, the dog was promoted to cosmonaut (a term referring to an astronaut in the Soviet or Russian space program) based on her ‘small’ size and ‘calm’ demeanor. ![]()
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