Written by: Himani Bhattarai - 2023017, Grade IX
Posted on: 30 August, 2020
Laika is one of the first animals to go to space and orbit of the earth. Laika was a Soviet space dog. She was a female mongrel. She was a normal street dog in Russia who was selected to go to space. Soviet Scientists chose to use Laika because she had already learned to endure conditions of extreme cold and hunger.
The aim of the mission was to learn how much a dog could last in space. To adapt the dogs to the confines of the tiny cabin of Sputnik 2, she was kept in progressively smaller cages for up to 20 days. After being well trained, Laika was ready to go to space. The original plan of the mission meant for Laika to return. The soviet even told the media that she would be comfortable and would return home safely, but the plan was changed as Nikita Khruschev wanted the satellite to be used in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, so the scientists had to create a spacecraft in a short period of time. She was sent to space in a rocket called Sputnik 2 on 3rd November 1957. When the rocket was launched Laika panicked and became terrified. Her heart rate spiked racing at three times the normal rate. The Sputnik 2 spent 5 months on the earth’s orbit only to fall down to the earth’s atmosphere on 14th April 1958. When it entered the earth’s atmosphere it struck across the sky at an incredible speed making it turn red. The spacecraft crashed on the earth’s ground. The Soviets claimed that Laika survived several days in the earth’s orbit. It was a suicide mission for her because Sputnik 2 was not designed to bring her back to the earth. The Soviets on the space program knew that Laika would not be making the trip back to earth safely and was expected only to spend a few days alive up in space. She unknowingly gave her life for the Soviet scientists. Laika is remembered in the form of a statue and plaque at Star City, Russia for the sacrifice she made.
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