Laika: The Brave Space Dog Who First Orbited Earth

Laika, a small stray dog from the streets of Moscow, holds a profound and enduring place in the history of space exploration as the first living being to orbit Earth.

Her historic flight aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957 marked a crucial milestone in the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States and played a significant role in advancing human spaceflight.

Laika was a female mixed-breed mongrel, likely part husky, chosen from among stray dogs for her calm temperament and small size, qualities that made her suitable for the tight confines of the spacecraft’s cabin.

Before her mission, she underwent training that included confinement in progressively smaller spaces, exposure to loud noises, and tests to simulate rocket launch conditions. These preparations were designed to help scientists understand how a living creature might react to the stresses of space travel.

Sputnik 2 was launched by the Soviet Union just one month after the groundbreaking Sputnik 1 mission, which had sent the first artificial satellite into orbit. Unlike its predecessor, Sputnik 2 carried scientific instruments and Laika, who was fitted with sensors and a harness to record vital signs during the flight. The mission was conducted under intense political pressure to demonstrate Soviet technological superiority during the Cold War.

At lift‑off, Laika successfully reached orbit, making her the first animal ever to circle the planet. However, the technology to safely return a living being from space had not yet been developed, and the mission was planned as a one‑way trip.

Initial Soviet accounts hinted that Laika might survive for several days, but decades later it was revealed that she died only a few hours into the flight due to overheating and stress caused by a failure in the spacecraft’s thermal control system.

Laika’s death was not widely understood at the time, and conflicting reports emerged over the years about how and when she perished.

It was only in the early 2000s that a scientist associated with the mission confirmed that she likely died from hyperthermia on the fourth orbit of Earth. Sputnik 2 continued orbiting the planet for several months before burning up in the atmosphere in April 1958.

The legacy of Laika’s mission is complex. On one hand, her flight provided invaluable biological data that helped scientists understand the effects of spaceflight on living organisms — information that contributed to the safe journey of the first human into space in 1961.

On the other hand, her story has sparked enduring ethical debates about the treatment of animals in scientific research. Laika has since become a symbol of both human curiosity and the moral costs of exploration.