Astronomy

Who Was the First Animal to go into Space?

The first rocket ever sent to space probably carried bacteria or some other accidental passenger. But the first animals ever intentionally sent into space were fruit flies launched aboard a V2 rocket in 1947. US scientists were studying the effects of radiation at high altitude.

A rhesus monkey called Albert 1 became the first monkey launched into space on June 11, 1948; also on board a US-launched V2 rocket.

These were just suborbital flights, though. The first animal to actually go into orbit was the dog Laika, launched on board the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft on November 3, 1957. Unfortunately, Laika died during the flight.

At least 10 more dogs were launched into space and on sub-orbital flights by the Soviets until April 12, 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

Since those first historic launches, many monkeys, chimpanzees, rats, mice, frogs, spiders, cats and even a tortoise were launched into space.

Read more about Laika’s mission in this article.

Want more resources on space? Here’s a link to NASA’s Human Spaceflight page, and here’s NASA’s Space Place.

We have also recorded many episode of Astronomy Cast about space. Episode 100 is all about rockets, and Episode 84 is about getting around the Solar System.

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. Here's a link to my Mastodon account.

Recent Posts

Earth’s Temporary Moon Might Have Come from THE Moon

A tiny asteroid loitering in a near-Earth orbit for a few months last year may…

7 hours ago

Galaxy Cores May be Giant Fuzzy Dark Stars

A fuzzy form of dark matter may clump up to become the cores of galaxies,…

7 hours ago

This Quasar Helped End the Dark Ages of the Universe

After the Big Bang came the Dark Ages, a period lasting hundreds of millions of…

10 hours ago

Webb Provides an Explanation for “Little Red Dots”

When a new space telescope is launched, it's designed to address specific issues in astronomy…

10 hours ago

Astronomers Reveal the 3D Structure of the Ring Nebula

I’ve lost count of the number of times I have seen the Ring Nebula. It’s…

11 hours ago

It’s Official, 2024 Was the Hottest Year on Record

Climate scientists must fear sounding like a broken record when discussing new record temperatures yearly.…

13 hours ago