Spaceflight Experiment Animals 6

Description

Spaceflight Experiment Animals, Photo; Licensed article; Original: 5740×4315; Photographer: Unknown; subject to licensing; Rights: a9 Bleek/zb Media. The photo shows experimental animals from the Soviet space programs, which were sent into space in the 1950s and 1960s for scientific experiments.
– Dogs like Laika, Belka, and Strelka: Most notably known is Laika, who flew into space in 1957 as the first living being with Sputnik 2. Later, Belka and Strelka (1960) returned as the first animals to come back alive from an orbital flight.
– Monkeys, mice, and other animals: In addition to dogs, the Soviet Union also tested other animals to study the effects of weightlessness and space travel on the organism.
These experiments provided important insights for manned spaceflight and paved the way for Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight in 1961.