Laika

Laika was the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on 3 November 1957. The experiment aimed to prove that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure a micro-g environment. She died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002.

About Laika in brief

Summary Laika Laika was a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow. She was the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on 3 November 1957. The experiment aimed to prove that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure a micro-g environment. Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002. It was widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six or, as the Soviet government initially claimed, she was euthanised prior to oxygen depletion. A small monument in her honour was built near the military research facility in Moscow that prepared Laika’s flight to space. She also appears on the Monument to the Conquerors of Space in Moscow. Her true pedigree is generally unknown, although it is generally accepted that she was part husky or other Nordic breed, and possibly part terrier or terrier. The American press dubbed her Muttnik as a pun on her name, Limonika, the Russian name for several breeds similar to the husky. Its literal translation would be “Barker” from the Russian verb “layat” (to bark) or “layer” (the Russian word for “to bark” or the English word “lay” for “bark”).

She is buried in a plot of land near Moscow, next to a monument to the Soviet space pioneers, which was unveiled in April 2008. She is the subject of a film, Laika: The First Dog in Space, directed by Alexei Kovalev, which is scheduled to be released in 2015. The film is based on a book by the same name, and is expected to be published by the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2016. The book will be based on the book, The First Dogs in Space: The Rise and Fall of Laika and Other Dogs in the Search for the Great Dog in the Solar System, by Alexander Nekrassov. The movie will also be released by UCLA in 2016, and the film will be followed by a sequel, The Second Dog, in which Laika returns to the Earth in 2028. The second dog will be called Laika 2, after the name of the first dog in the film, the dog who returned to Earth after the first mission to the moon in 1968. The third dog, named Laika 3, was named after the dog from the film The Great Dog, who was the first animal to orbit the Earth. The fourth and final dog was called Kudryavka due to her loud barking due to the fact she was a part-partrier or Nordic breed. The dog was named Limonik, after a breed of husky, and may have been part of the Nordic terrier breed.