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Who won the space race? Soviet animals did!

Thursday 13, February 2014, 2:16 pm Red

We all know that there’s a never-ending debate about who completed the most important achievements in space exploration: the Soviet Union or the USA? Americans sent the first man to the Moon, Russians sent the first man and woman to space. But before that, before humans were on the front page of magazines and newspapers all around the world, there were other Russian creatures flying into space. And they weren’t humans.

First animal in orbit: Laika 

This is a classic quiz question and everyone knows it. Once upon a time there was a dog living on the streets of Moscow. It was 1957, four years before Yuri Gagarin was sent to space. Some scientists had the great idea of making that dog famous and they did it. Laika became the first living creature to orbit Earth. Unfortunately, she didn’t come back. Space travel technology was still being developed and the means to keep the animal alive didn’t work.  

laika
Laika ready for the launch

Belka and Strelka: the first animals in orbit that came back alive 

Maybe they were not as famous as Laika, but they could talk (or rather bark) in Russian about it. Belka and Strelka were two dogs sent to space, they orbited around Earth and came back alive. In 2010 they were rewarded with the greatest honor on Earth: a movie (“Space dogs”). By the way, on the same trip some 40 mice and two rats were also on board, but they didn’t become so famous. 

belka strelka
Belka and Strelka

First living creature around the Moon: nope, it wasn’t a human 

You see, we all know that Laika was the first animal orbiting Earth. We know that Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space and Neil Armstrong the first man on the Moon. But what about the first living creature that went to the Moon and came back alive? Well, you might be surprised to find out that two Russian turtles did it. And hardly anyone knows. Not even Wikipedia mentions their names. Moreover, they don’t have any monument and no movie. Sometimes being the first isn’t worth it. 

Communist conspiracy: Russian space animals in the White House 

In 1961, a year later after coming back alive from space, Strelka had puppies. One of them (called Pushinka, “Fluffy”) was sent as a present to John F. Kennedy’s daughter. The president’s advisors wanted him to refuse the present, since they feared the animal might have microphones in its body. Eventually, the White House accepted the present. The dog didn’t have any microphone, was very healthy and actually he has descendants which are still alive.

And what do you think? Who won the space race?

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