The real story behind the first journey into space: The sad fate of the dog Laika astronaut. Today is November 3rd, it will be 66 years Launch of the USSR’s second satellite, Sputnik II, into space. However, this historical success is only personThere was one dog who actively, though probably not willingly, participated in the space race: Laika bitch. In the middle of 1957 space race Communist leaders between the Soviet Union and the United States wanted to test the war. resistance of a living thing in space before sending a man.
The person chosen was Laika, one dog whose name probably became one dog names further populartrained Moscow To accommodate the dimensions of the tiny capsule in which he would travel off-world. Ethical question on this issue suffering which one bitch It continues to be a debate that comes to the fore every year. it’s your anniversary death.
Laika resisted 5 and 7 hours alive and died a prisoner heat And panic. However, this was not fully known until 2002.. The USSR sweetened the news of his death and emphasized the progress it represented; Thus, years later, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin would become the first person sent into space.
Where did they find the Laika dog?
Laika is a street bitch He was found wandering the streets of Moscow. Soviet scientists they chose to use stray dogs since these are assumed to be from Moscow animals They had already learned to endure pain. conditions of extreme cold and hunger. It was decided dogs Due to their great adaptability and ease, they were the best option to demonstrate a mammal’s resilience to harsh conditions. education.
The team worked extensively with a large number of candidates and put them through a selection process that included: experiments from someone persecution absolutely inhumane sealing animals in capsules are very small throughout the day, radically changing the thermal and atmospheric conditions within them and exposing them to a unique atmosphere. sensory torture. Back then, everything was worth finding the “candidate” with the best adaptability.
Dog Laika: The first living creature in space
Finally, Laika (meaning Barker in Russian), a dog race mixed between husky and spitz At about three years old, he was the chosen candidate. It’s probably due to guilt, Vladimir Yazdovskyscientist and doctor Soviet space programShe took him home the day before launch and tried to provide him with peace and human affection for the last few hours before euthanizing him, as it was planned from the beginning to be a one-way trip.
The mission was successful, but the price to pay was Laika’s life. HE Sputnik 2 this was the second Spaceship placed in orbit around EarthAt 02:30 UTC on November 3, 1957. It was a conical capsule 4 meters high. A base with a diameter of 2 meters. It included several compartments intended to house radio transmitters, a telemetry system, a programmable unit, a cabin temperature and regeneration control system, and scientific instruments.
In a sealed cabin, separate from the others he travels with dogreal name “Kudryavka” and weighed about 6 kilos. Sputnik 2’s pressurized cabin allowed you to lie down or stand up and was padded. A regenerative system the air provided him with oxygen; Food and water were in gelatin form.
Laika’s death: The dog’s pain and the Soviet lie
Laika was restrained with a harness, a feces-collecting bag, and electrodes monitored vital signs. The initial telemetry report showed that Laika was agitated in space but was eating. There was no possibility of returning to Earth, so It was planned to be sacrificed after 10 days in orbit.. Originally from the Soviet Union The dog reportedly died on the sixth dayThey were euthanized remotely to prevent them from suffering due to lack of oxygen.
However, years later it was revealed that all this information was Soviet propaganda. In October 2002, it was revealed by Russian sources that Laika He died a few hours later after suffering from hyperventilation and tachycardia.due to overheating and the stress it is subjected to. The mission provided scientists with initial data. a behavior organism living in space environment.
Dog Laika: A historical achievement marked by human cruelty
Laika’s death caused a stir immediate response by some associations animal defensehowever, these protests had little impact and were silenced by the Soviet and American media. With the passage of time and advances in the defense of animal rights, the debate on animal rights has also been brought to the table. animal abuse in research environments, where many scientific publications wonder where to draw ethical boundary line between experiments with animals.
Moreover, after many years Some members of the Sputnik project expressed regret over what Laika’s sacrifice meant.. “As time goes by, I regret what happened more and more. We shouldn’t have done this… In fact, we didn’t even learn enough from this mission to justify losing the animal.“It is still considered one of the most famous animals in history, and there are various statues and monuments commemorating its sacrifice,” its trainer Oleg Gazenko said years later at a conference in Moscow in 1990.
Other animals in space
Despite ethical concerns, animal research in space testing has continued for decades to ensure the safety of humans. While the Soviet Union chose to send dogs and later rabbits, the United States used monkeys in its experiments.. Although most of the monkeys sent into space died, some managed to return to Earth alive.
in 1951 Desik and Gypsy dogsof the Soviet Union and yoric chimpanzeeThey became the first living creatures to return to our planet after traveling into space from the United States. Unfortunately, Desik died shortly after. In 1966, the Soviet Union sent the Kosmos-110 satellite with two surviving dogs, Vaterk and Ugolkom. to your accommodation 23 days in orbitEven though they returned exhausted. With the launch of human beings into space, the practice of sending animals into space began to decline, but Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit the Earth in 1961, said he was “the first man and the last dog in space.”