On 3 November 1957, Laika was launched aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2, becoming the first living creature to orbit Earth. Her mission was designed as a one-way journey, and she died within hours of launch after temperatures inside the capsule rose to fatal levels.
Before humans ventured beyond Earth, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow became the first living being to reach orbit. Launched 69 years ago, Laika’s journey captured the attention of the world and marked a milestone in the early space race between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Laika travelled aboard Sputnik 2, the second artificial satellite ever launched and the first to carry a living creature. The spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5.30 am Moscow time on 3 November 1957. It carried instruments to measure solar radiation, cosmic rays, temperature and pressure, alongside sensors monitoring the dog’s vital signs.
The launch placed considerable strain on Laika. Her heart rate rose sharply during the initial acceleration before gradually stabilising. She had undergone extensive training, including exposure to centrifuges, simulated launch conditions and increasingly confined spaces.
A mission with no return
The original plan was for Laika to remain in orbit for eight days before receiving a lethal injection intended to prevent prolonged suffering. However, the spacecraft’s thermal insulation failed to provide adequate protection. Temperatures inside the capsule exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, and Laika died from overheating and stress within hours of launch, during the first few orbits.
Soviet authorities initially issued reassuring statements, suggesting that Laika was still alive. The true circumstances of her death emerged only years later. The spacecraft itself remained in orbit until 14 April 1958, when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated.
Laika was a mixed-breed dog, approximately three years old and weighing around six kilograms. She had been selected from the stray dogs of Moscow. Her original name was Kudryavka, meaning “Little Curly”, but she became known worldwide as Laika. Selecting a female dog was partly a practical decision, as the spacecraft’s limited space made it easier to accommodate an animal that did not need to raise its leg to urinate.
A milestone in the space race
Although the mission provided limited scientific data, it demonstrated that a living organism could survive the launch and conditions of spaceflight, even if a safe return was not possible at the time.
In 1960, Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka completed an orbital mission and returned safely to Earth after approximately 24 hours. Their flight helped establish that living creatures could survive a journey into orbit and back. Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space the following year, in April 1961.
Laika never returned to Earth, but her mission remains one of the defining episodes of the early space race. On 6 November 1957, Corriere della Sera devoted its front page to her story under the headline: “Laika, the little dog destined to sacrifice herself for science” — at a time when the world still believed her heart was beating.
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