Laika: The First Space Pioneer

In the frantic heart of the Space Race, the Soviet Union needed to prove a living being could

survive in orbit. But before they sent a human... they sent her. Her name was Laika.

A small, stray mutt found on the streets of Moscow. She was chosen for

her calm demeanor and her resilience. She, along with other dogs,

was subjected to brutal training... confined to smaller and smaller cages, and spun in centrifuges

to simulate the crushing force of a rocket launch. On November 3rd, 1957,

she was sealed inside the Sputnik 2 capsule. It was a one-way mission. The technology for

a return trip did not exist, and everyone knew it. Laika was being