Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday
on Twitter 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 mor