Animals have been sent into space to help conduct experiments for scientific research. Though the idea of sending animals to space is sort of exciting, this furry creature’s story always leaves people in tears. An animal that has been through it all was chosen as the first dog to go into space.

Her name was Laika. Her past was very severe and traumatizing because she was a stray. The part-Samoyed terrier was found as a stray in Moscow. Soviet scientists chose her because they believed she was capable of being better equipped for cold weather, hunger, and conditions. She was expected to orbit Earth on the satellite Sputnik 2.

On November 3, 1957, 2-year-old Laika was sent into space. Scientists expected that Laika would die from a loss of oxygen within 15 seconds over the course of a week. They were able to feed Laika small portions of food to help her survive. Since Laika was a stray dog, scientists felt very bad about how tragic her life was. However, they weren’t all heartless. They gave Laika a small meal and affection two hours before her takeoff. It was very sad considering the struggles she went through. She just wanted to live a caring, loving life with a family that took great care of her.

When deployed, she reached orbit and circled the Earth in 103 minutes. Unfortunately, when reaching into space, the loss of the heat shield caused the capsule’s temperature to rise drastically. She died shortly after the launch. Scientists revealed how the temperature increased within a matter of minutes. It was assumed she didn’t make one orbit at all. Sputnik 2 was in orbit for five months before reaching Earth once again. Laika was the first dog to orbit the Earth and left a huge impact on future generations of animal space launches.