Laika, a stray dog in Moscow, was hurriedly placed into a metal carrier to go aboard Sputnik 2, which shot into orbit in November 1957. Other pets were taken from the streets or abandoned in space.
In April 1958, Sputnik 2 was abandoned to burn up in the atmosphere, and Laika died from overheating five hours into the trip.
In the meantime, Félicette, the first cat, was successfully launched into space by French scientists in October 1963.
In space, turtles and jellyfish
In 1968, the USSR launched Zond 5 with a variety of live things that flew around the Moon, including plants, mealworms, wine flies, turtles, and other creatures.
Following Apollo 11’s first human lunar landing, animals in space were restricted to “biological payload,” which mostly consisted of fish, turtles, insects, spiders, bunnies, and jellyfish.
