As astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to earth, celebrations are in order. The two, whose nine day mission turned out to be a nine month ordeal, will now go through an extensive rehabilitation programme, in order to make their bodies adjust to Earth and its gravity. This includes muscle strengthening, cardiovascular exercises, and others. Sunita and Butch’s stay marks one of the longest trips in space, but did you know that back in 1957, a street dog was sent to space, despite knowledge that it would never return? Here’s the heartbreaking story of Laika…
Who was Laika?
Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, was in fact, the first living creature to orbit the Earth, who was launched aboard the Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. She was originally called Kudryavka (“Little Curly”), and was a small, stray mongrel picked up from the streets of Moscow.
Why the experiment?
The Soviet Union launched Laika into space to study the effects of space on a living being, since no human had till then, been into space.
What happened to Laika?
Laika was not intended to return alive, and she died shortly after the launch due to overheating and stress. Her body disintegrated into space on re-entry. She was later renamed “Muttnik” in the United States. Laika’s death sparked ethical debates around sending animals to space with no hope of return.
Even though Laika’s story is a tragic one, it is considered important in the history of space travel.
More on Sunita-Butch return
A short trip to the International Space Station (ISS) turned out to be a 10-month-expedition for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who started their journey aboard the Boeing Starliner on June 5, 2024. Initially planned as a short expedition, NASA’s spacecraft carrying the two ran into technical malfunction, during its approach and docking maneuvers after reaching the ISS. This led to a thorough investigation by NASA, and it was decided that the spacecraft will return on its own without the astronauts, as it was too risky.
How did they manage to return?
To facilitate their return, NASA collaborated with SpaceX, adding Williams and Wilmore to the downward leg of the Crew-9 mission. This mission was launched in September with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Initially scheduled to return in February, the Crew-9’s departure was postponed due to logistical adjustments.
