Today marks the 58th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 2, containing Laika, the first living creature to orbit the earth. Laika had a one-way ticket not only to space, but also to great fame and admiration, having subsequently been immortalized in several monuments, many books and countless postage stamps and other works of art. Selected from a pool of stray dogs recovered from the streets of Moscow, Laika was determined to have The Right Stuff, leading the 6kg Terrier & Husky cross to space and into history.
It's a good, if terribly sad story, and is reasonably well-told here:
Laika's tale at Wikipedia
If this is of any interest please consider reading Rick Abadzis' excellent graphic novel, Laika, a slightly fictionalized but outstanding account of Laika's story.
Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it ... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog. - Dr. Oleg Gazenko
Thanks for the reminder of this event. Dr. Oleg was brave to acknowledge that it had been a mistake to use Laika in this way. Your caption about Laika's "office and eventual coffin" is chilling.
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