Laika, the dog who was sent into space knowing she would not come back alive

There are stories that make our hearts especially heavy, and Laika's story is one of them. One of many where humans believe they are the lord and master of animals and use them for science and research without taking into account the disastrous consequences they have on their lives.

The protagonist of this terrible story is called Laika. She was a little dog launched into space on the Russian satellite Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957. It was the first time that a living being had left the planet Earth.

Many lies about Laika's death

The public was initially told that the dog had survived six days in orbit and had been euthanised before it ran out of oxygen. This was completely untrue. The authorities kept the true causes of her death a secret for 45 years.

Laika had the misfortune of being born and growing up in that communist paradise that Nikita Khrushchev managed with an iron hand, a white glove next to that of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin.

How did Laika die?

Source BBC:

The shocking reality is that Laika died in flight, a few hours after take-off. Her death was caused by the spacecraft overheating.

Sensors implanted in Laika showed that, during the launch, her pulse rate increased dramatically, rising to three times the resting rate.

Her pulse took three times longer to return to pre-launch levels than it had taken in previous tests, an indicator of the high degree of stress Laika underwent on the journey into space.

Temperature sensors showed that the humidity and temperature in Laika's capsule increased shortly after the start of the mission. The temperature reached over 40 degrees Celsius.

Six hours after take-off, sensors recorded a cardiac arrest. It was clear that the puppy had died as a result of overheating in the cabin and stress.

The satellite with Laika's body circled 2,370 times in orbit and burned up as it entered the atmosphere on 14 April 1958.

Why was Laika sent into space?

During the Cold War, everyone in the USSR knew that Laika would not survive space flight. She was sent to find out if it was possible for a living being to overcome orbiting and the conundrum of gravity. They experimented with her in order to find out if a man could ever crew a spacecraft. In this way, they studied her reactions to such a flight.

A cruel experiment in which Laika bore the brunt. Her horrible death. Scared, unable to choose, that's what they did with her.

Espionage, the real cause.

It was espionage that was the cradle of the space race, not the romantic vision of stellar conquest that was sold to the world. This was revealed by Nikita's son Sergei Khrushchev in his somewhat apologetic book Nikita Khrushchev and the creation of a Superpower.

Unfortunately the use of animals in space testing continued, with the aim of ensuring the safe launch of humans. While the Soviet Union used dogs, and later rabbits, the United States used monkeys.

Tribute to the little dog Laika in Moscow.

Many protests were generated by public opinion when they heard this terrible news. Hundreds of tributes were paid to him, such as this monument in Moscow.

From VeggieAnimals we completely reject this type of practice and any other that involves animal abuse. We hope that somewhere in the stars, Laika is living happily as she deserves.

If you want to know more about this story, we recommend these two articles:

https://www.infobae.com/historias/2021/11/04/la-terrible-historia-de-laika-la-perra-que-los-rusos-mandaron-al-espacio-sabiendo-que-iba-a-morir/

https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-41861654