While the world celebrates the safe return of the Artemis II crew and the mission’s profound impact on science, there is one individual whose contributions to spaceflight deserve equal recognition.
On 3 November 1957, Sputnik 2 lifted off into orbit, carrying a lone passenger: Laika, a stray dog found in the streets of Moscow.
For Soviet engineers, the launch marked a milestone in the space race. Yet beneath it was a quiet, painful truth: they were sending a small, gentle dog on a journey with no chance of return.
Laika, first known as Kudryavka, meaning “Little Curly,” later earned the name that would echo through history after she barked during a radio appearance. She was selected from a group of candidates for her manageable size, calm temperament, and light-colored fur, which would make her easier to see on camera.
The Associated Press described her as a “cosmonaut,” placing her among the pioneers of the Soviet space program. The mission itself was rushed, timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.
But Laika’s story is not one of triumph alone, it is one of loss.
Those who designed the mission knew from the beginning that survival was impossible. Sputnik 2 lacked a re-entry system; it was never meant to bring Laika back.
For decades, officials maintained that Laika lived for several days in orbit. That narrative held for 45 years. In 2002, the truth emerged. She had died only hours after launch.
According to Cathleen Lewis of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, temperatures inside the capsule soared past survivable limits shortly after reaching orbit. There was little chance Laika lived beyond the first few circuits around Earth.
Records later showed that Laika did make it into orbit alive, completing part of a revolution around the planet. But the experience overwhelmed her — her heart rate surged to three times its normal pace, her breathing intensified, and the stress of launch weighed heavily on her small body. Ultimately, it was the intense heat within the spacecraft that claimed her life.
Sputnik 2 continued circling Earth for months, carrying her remains, before finally breaking apart over the Caribbean on 14 April 1958.
Laika became the first animal to orbit the Earth, but she was not the first animal sent into space. Earlier missions by the Soviet Union had already launched dogs like Dezik and Tsygan in 1951. In the years that followed, countless animals — from chimpanzees to turtles — would be used in the pursuit of space exploration.
And Laika would not be the last dog to fly. In 1960, Sputnik 5 carried two dogs, Belka and Strelka, safely back to Earth. Strelka later gave birth to puppies, one of which was Pushinka who was later on gifted to John F. Kennedy.
Laika never returned, but her journey changed the course of history. Her sacrifice helped scientists understand what it would take for humans to survive beyond Earth.