Animals That Went to Space
It’s not much of a surprise to people that animals went to space before we did. “In the early days of rocket science, no one knew what the effects of weightlessness would be,” writes Space.com. Rocket scientists launched animals up into space to test how space affected living beings and determine whether humans could survive trips to space. Here are the animals that have made it to space before we did.
- 1947: Fruit flies
Fruit flies were the first animals sent into space on February 20, 1947, by the United States. They were launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to test the effects of radiation on DNA. The little creatures did reach “space,” as the U.S. Air Force defines it: at least 50 miles above, even though they didn’t quite make it into orbit. To anyone who has witnessed the persistence of fruit flies, it won’t be surprising to know that they were still alive when they came back.
2. 1948-1949: Albert I and Albert II, rhesus monkeys
Albert I, a male rhesus monkey, was the first monkey to be sent into space, and his capsule reached a distance of 39 miles on June 11, 1948. Although technically not in space, Albert I sadly did not survive the mission and may not have even made it through the launch. Albert II, the next monkey to travel to space, did better. On June 14, 1949, he reached 83 miles. However, he also tragically died on the mission when his parachute did not open on landing.
3. 1950: The first mouse
On August 15, 1950, the first mouse was sent into space and reached a height of 87 miles; however, he died upon return because, like Albert II, his parachute had failed to open. A second mouse was launched into space by the United Space two weeks later, on August 31, 1950, however he also experienced parachute failure and died in space. Despite multiple launches of mice during the 1950s, it wasn’t until August 19, 1960, that 42 mice and two rats survived a trip to and from space .
4. 1951: Tsygan and Dezik the dogs
Tsygan and Dezik, who were launched from the Soviet Union on August 15, 1951, were the first dogs to travel into space. They were the first higher living organism to travel into space (though they did not orbit). Sadly, in September of that year, Dezik died on a second flight attempt.
5. 1957: Laika the dog
Surely one of the most popular dogs of all time, Laika is known all over the world for her amazing feat. She was the first dog to orbit the Earth, on November 3, 1957 (see picture of her above). She was a Russian stray dog. Sadly, Laika died during the mission.
6. 1959: Able and Baker, the first surviving monkeys
Able, a rhesus monkey from Kansas, and Baker, a squirrel monkey from Peru, were the first monkeys to make it to and from space. On May 28, 1959, they took off, flying to a height of 360 miles. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum reports that while both monkeys survived the mission in good health, Able passed away four days later as a result of problems after surgery. Baker lived to the ripe old age of 24; she’s buried at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama where fans still honor her by leaving bananas on her grave.
7. 1959: Rabbits
According to Space.com, the first rabbit reached space on July 2, 1959, along with two dogs. It would be so great if we could know what those rabbits were thinking as they took off.
8. 1960: Belka and Strelka the dogs
The first space mission to return a dog alive after orbiting the earth was the Soviet Sputnik 5 on August 19, 1960 (a step beyond launching them into space). As well as the dogs, the plane carried 42 mice, two rats, fruit flies, and a rabbit.
9. 1961: Chimpanzees
The DNA of chimpanzees more closely matches human DNA than monkey DNA, so sending a chimp into space was key in preparing to launch a human into space. Three months before Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space, HAM the Chimpanzee (short for Holoman Aerospace Medical Center) became the first chimp in space on January 31, 1961. Nine months later, on November 29, 1961, Enos the Chimp became the first chimp to orbit the Earth.
10. 1961: Frogs
On March 9, 1961, when the Soviet Union launched the Korabl-Sputnik, the first frogs entered space. The Atlantic said that they all arrived back safe and alive.
11. 1961: Guinea pig
According to NASA, the Korabl-Sputnik also carried mice, a dog named Chernushka, and a guinea pig. All returned home safely.
12. 1963: Félicette the cat
On October 18, 1963, Félicette, a cat, was successfully sent into space by France. France launched a second cat six days later, but it did not do as well.
13. 1973: Spiders
Are spiders able to make webs in space? That was what scientists wanted to find out when they sent Anita and Arabella, two cross spiders into space on Skylab 3, July 28, 1973. Arabella was able to spin a web, but it had one main difference from spider webs found on Earth:it was symmetrical despite the fact that the thread thickness was different.
14. 2008: Tardigrades (“water bears”)
These near-microscopic, extremely tough invertebrates known as “water bears” are already known for being virtually indestructible on Earth. According to a 2008 space project that sent tardigrades into space, they are also virtually indestructible there. The only damage that they seemed to suffer is from Ultraviolet radiation.
