The Story of Laika, the First Dog in Space

Since ancient times, humanity has wondered what lies beyond the stars and has focused much of his energy and resources on discovering it.

The charm of the cosmos is undeniable, as well as the appeal of scientific research, which has led us to better understand how the universe works beyond the Earth.

In this article, we want to celebrate that research and the commitment, since April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight.

This is a great opportunity to discuss something close to our hearts: the role of animals in science and research, recalling one of the most dramatic events in history, namely Laika’s sacrifice, who was the first dog in space.

The International Day of Human Space Travel

Every April 12th, the International Day of Human Space Travel is celebrated, as it is the anniversary of the first flight by astronaut Yuri Gagarin.

On April 12, 1961, the Soviet cosmonaut became the first human to travel among the stars with an orbital flight around Earth.

Eight years later, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would become the first humans to land on the moon.

Celebrating this date is important because space missions have significant impacts on scientific research in terms of innovation and improvement, as discoveries related to the cosmos reflect on many other fields of science.

But sometimes… at what price?

Laika, the first dog in space

Let us remember, then, the story of the first dog in space, the little dog Laika.

She was a stray, about three years old, a mix between a Husky and a Terrier, and her real name was “Kudrjavka“, meaning “little curly“. The name Laika, however, can be translated as “little barker“, and several sources report that she was born in Moscow in 1954, the city where she was captured and later chosen for the space mission.

Why was her name changed? Some sources say that the mission staff had been tasked with finding a “photogenic animal with a name that was easy to remember“. Since Kudrjavka was a bit difficult to pronounce and even to remember, someone renamed her Laika, and that is the name she is worldwide known.

Other sources suggest that “Laika” was a rather common name used for hunting dogs in northern Russia and Siberia, even as a general term for dogs, similar to the word “Fido” for us.

On November 3, 1957, the little four-legged heart was sent aboard on the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, thus becoming the first living being in space.

Here, it is interesting to make a note, because we know that Laika was the first dog in space, but we cannot be sure she was the first living being in space, as no one has ruled out the possibility of other forms of life existing in the cosmos.

The story of the first dog in space, however, is dramatic from the start because the capsule where she stayed was certainly equipped for life support, with food and water, but re-entry to Earth had not been planned from the beginning.

The tragic fate of the first dog in space was therefore set from the beginning.

Even today, we do not know why a dog was chosen as the first passenger for a satellite, although it is likely due to his size.

It is important to consider that we are in the early 1950s, a historical period in which neither the United States nor the USSR had any experience in sending living beings into space and did not know if they could survive for long periods in the absence of gravity.

Thus, it was necessary to gather information on how the body would behave in space before sending humans to explore the cosmos.

According to Wikipedia, three dogs were selected for the mission of the first dog in space: Albina, Muschka, and Laika. Albina, the potential substitute for the mission, made a suborbital flight, while Muschka was used to test the life support systems of the spacecraft.

The three little dogs underwent intensive training, forced to stay in tiny cages for twenty consecutive days. This training was very harsh psychologically and physiologically, to the point that it had to be suspended because Laika was very restless and suffered panic and anger attacks.

A natural question arises… why all female dogs? There are several sources on this point. Some say the reason why is thay they were “small” dogs, that is, small-sized specimens. Other sources suggest that it was all about pee, as female dogs do not lift their leg like male dogs do, which would have required less space inside the spacecraft.

The tortures that these poor creatures underwent included a centrifuge simulation, with vibrations and noises they would have heard during the flight. For three days before the departure, the sweet Laika was locked inside the capsule, with the idea that she could get used to it before launch.

After another period of training, at 2:30 AM on November 3, 1957, the capsule carrying the first dog in space took off from Baikonur, a location today in Kazakhstan, and, according to official sources, it took seven hours before vital signals were received from inside.

According to Wikipedia, the official government report stated that Laika survived for more than four days of the mission, but other sources and historical reconstructions consider this impossible, reporting that the vital parameters showed a fast heartbeat and the audio recorded her whimpers.

This leads us to believe that the poor innocent creature must have suffered terribly. After a few hours, it seemed that the little dog had calmed down and eaten something because the audio had recorded the sound of the available food.

The recordings, however, suggested that she died soon after, possibly due to the thermal shock, as the temperature inside the capsule had reached and exceeded 40 degrees due to a system failure.

The satellite completed 2,500 orbits around the Earth, and, lacking a thermal shield, it completely disintegrated upon re-entry, along with the body of the first dog in space, poor sweet Laika. It was April 14, 1958, and the mission had thus lasted five months in total.

Poor Laika… today you and your huge sweetness are in our memories.

The death of the first dog in space, moreover in such horrible circumstances, led to many protests against Soviet embassies around the world, bringing the discussion about the use of animals for scientific purposes.

Since then, Laika has been celebrated in many different ways: songs, video games, graphic novels, books, and theater performances, even a cryptocurrency called Laika Coin.

These posthumous tributes help to somewhat remember the immense tragedy of the death of an innocent dog sacrificed during a historical period when the care for animal life was virtually nonexistent compared to the obsession with knowing and conquering the universe beyond Earth.

Remembering Laika is important and necessary, and if we ask ourselves whether she was the only dog in space, the answer is no, because there is the famous story of the two dogs Belka and Strelka, who left on August 19, 1960, aboard Sputnik 5, orbiting 18 times around the planet.

The two creatures, along with 42 mice, 2 rats, flies, and a variety of plants and fungi, safely returned to Earth, and after their death, their bodies were embalmed and are still on display at the Cosmonautics Museum in Moscow.

The sacrifice of animals: let’s not forget it

How many times has man used animals for scientific purposes? The answer, unfortunately, is too many, and even today it is estimated that between 10 and 100 million animals are used every year worldwide for experiments.

An article from the University of Ferrara explains well how animal research is regulated, strictly governed by the European Directive 2010/63/EU and the Italian Legislative Decree No. 26 of March 4, 2014.

In essence, every research project that involves the use of animals must be approved by the Italian Ministry of Health, which can grant approval after verifying three key points:

• That there are no alternative methods to the use of animals;
• That the potential benefit to society is high;
• That the study adheres to the 3Rs principle.

The 3Rs principle, Replacement, Refinement and Reduction is the model that the scientific community must follow if it intends to carry out tests on animals.

• Replacement: whenever possible, scientists strive to replace animals with alternative models;
• Refinement: animals must be bred and housed in controlled conditions, and their physical and psychological well-being must be guaranteed;
• Reduction: the smallest number possible of animals must be involved in tests.

Always against animal testing

The story of Laika, the first dog in space, today allows us to do two things: to celebrate the International Day of Human Space Travel and to remember the brutality of using animals for scientific experiments.

As we write on the page dedicated to our Philosophy, we have always protected the health of animals and those who care for them. YUUP! cosmetics are not tested on animals, a goal we have achieved thanks to the team of experts committed to the research and development of products that are completely cruelty-free, designed first and foremost for the well-being of pets and skin care.

Today, therefore, we remember the first dog in space and her sacrifice, hoping that science will increasingly commit to avoiding animal testing and treating them for what they are: amazing creatures, whose lives have the same value as those of human beings.

We conclude this article with the beautiful words that writer Dino Buzzati dedicated to the dog Laika in an article that appeared in Il Corriere dell’Informazione on November 16-17, 1956:

“Farewell then, gentle little dog, who no longer wags his tail, who will no longer have a bed, I fear, nor the lawn, nor the ball, nor the master. You will die in cruel solitude without knowing that you are a hero of history, a symbol of progress, a pioneer of space. Once again, man has taken advantage of your innocence, has abused you to feel even greater and to show off.”