Wikipedia

Laika

This article is about the Soviet dog. For the Greek genre of music, seeLaïko.For other uses, seeLaika (disambiguation).

Laika(/ˈlaɪkə/LY-kə;Russian:Лайка,IPA:[ˈlajkə];c. 1954– 3 November 1957) was aSoviet space dogwho was one of the firstanimals in spaceand the first toorbitthe Earth. Astraymongrelfrom the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard theSputnik 2spacecraft, launched intolow orbiton 3 November 1957. As the technology tore-enter the atmospherehad not yet been developed, Laika's survival was never expected. She died ofhyperthermiahours into the flight, on the craft's fourth orbit.

Laika
Laika in a flight harness
Othername(s)Kudryavka (Кудрявка,"Curly" )
SpeciesCanis familiaris
BreedMongrel,possibly part-husky(or part-Samoyed) and part-terrier
SexFemale
BornLaika (Лайка)
c. 1954
Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union
Died3 November 1957(1957-11-03)(aged 2–3)
Sputnik 2,inlow Earth orbit
Cause of deathHyperthermia
Known forFirst animal to orbit the Earth
OwnerSoviet space program
Weight5 kg (11 lb)

Little was known about the effects ofspaceflighton living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and animal flights were viewed by engineers as a necessary precursor tohuman missions.[1]The experiment, which monitored Laika's vital signs, aimed to prove that a living organism could survive being launched into orbit and continue to function under conditions ofweakened gravityand increased radiation, providing scientists with some of the first data on thebiological effects of spaceflight.

Laika's death was possibly caused by a failure of the centralR‑7 sustainerto separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002; instead, it was widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six or, as the Soviet government initially claimed, she waseuthanisedprior tooxygen depletion.In 2008, a small monument to Laika depicting her standing atop a rocket was unveiled near the military research facility in Moscow that prepared her flight. She also appears on theMonument to the Conquerors of Spacein Moscow.

Sputnik 2

Main article:Sputnik 2

After the success ofSputnik 1in October 1957,Nikita Khrushchev,leader of the Soviet Union, wanted a spacecraft launched on 7 November 1957 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of theOctober Revolution.[2]Khrushchev specifically wanted to deliver a "space spectacular", a mission that would repeat the triumph of Sputnik1, stunning the world with Soviet prowess.[3]

While Construction had already started onSputnik 3,a more sophisticated satellite, it would not be ready until December. To meet the November deadline, a new simple satellite would need to be built.[4]Sergei Korolevproposed that a dog be placed in the satellite, an idea which was quickly adopted by planners.[5]Soviet rocket engineers had long intended a canine orbit before attempting human spaceflight; since 1951, they had lofted 12 dogs into sub-orbital space on ballistic flights, working gradually toward an orbital mission set for some time in 1958. To satisfy Khrushchev's demands, they expedited the orbital canine flight for the November launch.[3]

According to Russian sources, the official decision to launch Sputnik2 was made on 10 or 12 October, leaving less than four weeks to design and build the spacecraft.[6]Sputnik2, therefore, was something of a rushed job, with most elements of the spacecraft being constructed from rough sketches. Aside from the primary mission of sending a living passenger into space, Sputnik2 also contained instrumentation for measuringsolar irradianceandcosmic rays.[4]

The craft was equipped with a life-support system consisting of anoxygen generatorand devices to avoidoxygen poisoningand to absorbcarbon dioxide.A fan, designed to activate whenever the cabin temperature exceeded 15 °C (59 °F), was added to keep the dog cool. Enough food (in a gelatinous form) was provided for a seven-day flight, and the dog was fitted with a bag to collect waste. Aharnesswas designed to be fitted to the dog, and there were chains to restrict her movements to standing, sitting, or lying down; there was no room to turn around in the cabin. Anelectrocardiogrammonitored heart rate and further instrumentation tracked respiration rate, maximum arterial pressure, and the dog's movements.[7][8]

Training

Laika was found as astraywandering the streets of Moscow.[9]Soviet scientists chose to use Moscow strays since they assumed that such animals had already learned to endure conditions of extreme cold and hunger.[3]She was a 5 kg (11 lb)[10]mongrelfemale, approximately three years old. Another account reported that she weighed about 6 kg (13 lb).[3]Soviet personnel gave her several names and nicknames, among themKudryavka(Russian forLittle Curly),Zhuchka(Little Bug), andLimonchik(Little Lemon). Laika, the Russian name for severalbreeds of dogssimilar to thehusky,was the name popularised around the world. Its literal translation would be "Barker", from the Russian verb "layat" (лаять), "to bark". According to some accounts, the technicians actually renamed her from Kudryavka to Laika due to her loud barking.[11]The American press dubbed her Muttnik (mutt+ suffix-nik) as a pun onSputnik,[12]or referred to her asCurly.[13]Her true pedigree is unknown, although it is generally accepted that she was part husky or other Nordic breed, and possibly partterrier.[3]NASA refers to Laika as a "part-Samoyedterrier ".[14]A Russian magazine described her temperament asphlegmatic,saying that she did not quarrel with other dogs.[10]

The Soviet Union and United States had previously sent animals only onsub-orbitalflights.[15]Three dogs were trained for the Sputnik2 flight:Albina,Mushka,and Laika.[16]Soviet space-life scientistsVladimir YazdovskyandOleg Gazenkotrained the dogs.[17]

To adapt the dogs to the confines of the tiny cabin of Sputnik2, they were kept in progressively smaller cages for periods of up to twenty days. The extensive close confinement caused them to stop urinating or defecating, made them restless, and caused their general condition to deteriorate.Laxativesdid not improve their condition, and the researchers found that only long periods of training proved effective. The dogs were placed incentrifugesthat simulated the acceleration of a rocket launch and were placed in machines that simulated the noises of the spacecraft. This caused their pulses to double and theirblood pressureto increase by 30–65torrs(4.0–8.7kPa). The dogs were trained to eat a special high-nutrition gel that would be their food in space.[8]

Ten days before the launch, Vladimir Yazdovsky chose Laika to be the primary flight dog.[18]Before the launch, Yazdovsky took Laika home to play with his children. In a book chronicling the story of Soviet space medicine, he wrote, "Laika was quiet and charming... I wanted to do something nice for her: She had so little time left to live. "[19]

Preflight preparations

Laika in a mock cockpit

Yazdovsky made the final selection of dogs and their designated roles. Laika was to be the "flight dog" – a sacrifice to science on a one-way mission to space.[20]Albina, who had already flown twice on a high-altitude testrocket,was to act as Laika's backup. The third dog, Mushka, was a "control dog"– she was to stay on the ground and be used to test instrumentation andlife support.[8][15]

Before leaving for theBaikonur Cosmodrome,Yazdovsky and Gazenko conducted surgery on the dogs, routing the cables from the transmitters to the sensors that would measure breathing, pulse, and blood pressure.[21]

Because the existing airstrip atTuratamnear the cosmodrome was small, the dogs and crew had to be first flown aboard aTu‑104plane toTashkent.From there, a smaller and lighterIl‑14plane took them to Turatam. Training of dogs continued upon arrival; one after another they were placed in the capsules to get familiar with the feeding system.[20]

According to aNASAdocument, Laika was placed in the capsule of the satellite on 31 October 1957 – three days before the start of the mission.[8]At that time of year, the temperatures at the launch site were extremely low, and a hose connected to a heater was used to keep her container warm. Two assistants were assigned to keep a constant watch on Laika before launch. Just prior to liftoff on 3 November 1957, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Laika's fur was sponged in a weakethanolsolution and carefully groomed, whileiodinewas painted onto the areas where sensors would be placed to monitor her bodily functions.[22]

One of the technicians preparing the capsule before final lift-off stated: "After placing Laika in the container and before closing the hatch, we kissed her nose and wished her bon voyage, knowing that she would not survive the flight."[20]

Voyage

Accounts of the time of launch vary from source to source, given as 05:30:42 Moscow Time or 07:22 Moscow Time.[20]

At peak acceleration, Laika's respiration increased to between three and four times the pre-launch rate.[8]The sensors showed her heart rate was 103 beats/min before launch and increased to 240 beats/min during the early acceleration. After reaching orbit, Sputnik2'snose conewas jettisoned successfully; however, the "Block A" core did not separate as planned, preventing the thermal control system from operating correctly. Some of thethermal insulationtore loose, raising the cabin temperature to 40 °C (104 °F).[14]After three hours ofweightlessness,Laika's pulse rate had settled back to 102 beats/min,[23]three times longer than it had taken during earlier ground tests, an indication of the stress she was under. The earlytelemetryindicated that Laika was agitated but eating her food.[14]After approximately five to seven hours into the flight, no further signs of life were received from the spacecraft.[8]

The Soviet scientists had planned to euthanise Laika with a serving of poisoned food. For many years, theSoviet Uniongave conflicting statements that she had died either fromasphyxia,[24]when the batteries failed, or that she had been euthanised. Many rumours circulated about the exact manner of her death. In 1999, several Russian sources reported that Laika had died when the cabin overheated on the fourth day.[6]In October 2002, Dimitri Malashenkov, one of the scientists behind the Sputnik2 mission, revealed that Laika had died by the fourth circuit[note 1]of flight from overheating. According to a paper he presented to theWorld Space CongressinHouston, Texas,"It turned out that it was practically impossible to create a reliable temperature control system in such limited time constraints."[7]

Over five months later, after 2,570 orbits, Sputnik2 (including Laika's remains) disintegrated during re-entry on 14 April 1958.[25]

Ethics of animal testing

NASA named this soil target on Mars after Laika during theMars Exploration Rovermission.

Due to the overshadowing issue of the Soviet–U.S.Space Race,the ethical issues raised by this experiment went largely unaddressed for some time. As newspaper clippings from 1957 show, the press was initially focused on reporting the political perspective, while Laika's health and retrieval – or lack thereof – only became an issue later.[26]

Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, and it had always been accepted that Laika would die.[6]The mission sparked a debate across the globe on themistreatment of animalsandanimal testingin general to advance science.[17]In the United Kingdom, theNational Canine Defence Leaguecalled on all dog owners to observe a minute's silence on each day Laika remained in space, while theRoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(RSPCA) received protests even beforeRadio Moscowhad finished announcing the launch.Animal rightsgroups at the time called on members of the public to protest at Soviet embassies.[27]Others demonstrated outside the United Nations in New York.[17]Laboratory researchers in theU.S.offered some support for the Soviets, at least before the news of Laika's death.[17][28]

In the Soviet Union, there was less controversy. Neither the media, books in the following years, nor the public openly questioned the decision to send a dog into space. In 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime,Oleg Gazenko,one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:

Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it[...] We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.[25][26]

In otherWarsaw Pactcountries, open criticism of the Soviet space program was difficult because of political censorship, but there were notable cases of criticism in Polish scientific circles. A Polish scientific periodical,Kto, Kiedy, Dlaczego( "Who, When, Why" ), published in 1958, discussed the mission of Sputnik2. In the periodical's section dedicated to astronautics,Krzysztof Boruńdescribed the Sputnik2 mission as "regrettable" and criticised not bringing Laika back to Earth alive as "undoubtedly a great loss for science".[29]

Legacy

"Laika, first traveller into cosmos", issued byPoșta Românăin 1957

Laika is memorialised in the form of a statue and plaque atStar City,the Russian Cosmonaut training facility.[30]Created in 1997, Laika is positioned behind the cosmonauts with her ears erect.[30]TheMonument to the Conquerors of Spacein Moscow, constructed in 1964, also includes Laika.[31]On 11 April 2008[32]at the military research facility where staff had been responsible for readying Laika for the flight, officials unveiled a monument of her poised on top of a space rocket.[1]Stamps and envelopes picturing Laika were produced, as well as branded cigarettes and matches.[33]

Future space missions carrying dogs would be designed to be recovered; the first successful recovery followed the flight ofKorabl-Sputnik 2,wherein the dogsBelka and Strelka,alongside dozens of other organisms, safely returned to Earth.[34]Nonetheless, four other dogs later died in Soviet space missions:Bars and Lisichkawere killed when their R‑7 rocket exploded shortly after launch on 28 July 1960,[35]whilePchyolka and Mushkadied whenKorabl-Sputnik 3suffered an emergency and had to be detonated.[36]

The allegorical title ofKarl Schroeder's science fiction noveletteLaika's Ghostis an allusion to what a critic wrote about the novelette: "[Gennady Malianov] discovers that the only people ready to take up the dream of flight to other worlds are aged remnants of the formerSoviet Union".[37]

Notes

  1. ^The satellite's orbit had a period of 103.7 minutes.

References

  1. ^ab Isachenkov, Vladimir (11 April 2008),"Russia opens monument to space dog Laika",Associated Press,archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2015,retrieved4 August2014
  2. ^Chertok 2006,p. 387.
  3. ^abcde LePage, Andrew J. (1997),"Sputnik 2: The First Animal in Orbit",archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015,retrieved26 September2006
  4. ^ab Harford, James J. (1997),"Korolev's Triple Play: Sputniks 1, 2, and 3",NASA,archivedfrom the original on 16 January 2001,retrieved26 September2006
  5. ^Chertok 2006,p. 388.
  6. ^abc Zak, Anatoly (3 November 1999),"The True Story of Laika the Dog",Space.com,archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2006,retrieved14 May2023,Recently, several Russian sources revealed that Laika survived in orbit for four days and then died when the cabin overheated.
  7. ^ab Malashenkov, D. C. (2002), "Abstract:Some Unknown Pages of the Living Organisms' First Orbital Flight",IAF Abstracts:288,Bibcode:2002iaf..confE.288M
  8. ^abcdef Grahn, Sven,"Sputnik-2, more news from distant history",archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015,retrieved2 February2004
  9. ^Sriram, Varsha (3 November 2022)."Recalling top dog Laika, 65 years after pathbreaking space flight".Indian Express.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved26 September2006.
  10. ^abFrankel, Max (13 November 1957),"Muscovites Told Space Dog Is Dead",The New York Times,p. 3,archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2019,retrieved3 November2019
  11. ^""Epoch of the Dog: Names and Stories of the Soviet Space Exploration" (in Russian) ".27 January 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 23 July 2020.Retrieved23 July2020.
  12. ^ Gray, Tara (1998),"A Brief History of Animals in Space",NASA,archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2004,retrieved26 September2006
  13. ^ "Space Dog Lives",The British Library, archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2015,retrieved26 September2006
  14. ^abc"Sputnik 2",National Space Science Data Center,archivedfrom the original on 29 May 2019,retrieved3 November2014
  15. ^ab "Dogs in space",Space Today Online, 2004,archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2015,retrieved28 September2006
  16. ^ Whitehouse, David (28 October 2002),First dog in space died within hours,BBC,archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2015,retrieved26 September2006
  17. ^abcd "Animals as Cold Warriors: Missiles, Medicine and Man's Best Friend",National Library of Medicine, 19 June 2006,archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2015,retrieved28 September2006
  18. ^Chertok 2006,p. 396.
  19. ^Isachenkov, Vladimir (11 April 2008),"Space dog monument opens in Russia",NBC News,archivedfrom the original on 29 October 2013,retrieved15 April2008
  20. ^abcd Zak, Anatoly,"Sputnik-2",Russianspaceweb.com,archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015,retrieved23 May2013
  21. ^Siddiqi (2000),p. 173
  22. ^"Memorial to Laika",novareinna.com, archived fromthe originalon 22 June 2015,retrieved26 September2006
  23. ^ West, John B. (1 October 2001), "Historical aspects of the early Soviet/Russian manned space program",Journal of Applied Physiology,91(4): 1501–1511,doi:10.1152/jappl.2001.91.4.1501,PMID11568130,S2CID24284107
  24. ^ Beischer, DE; Fregly, AR (1962),"Animals and man in space. A chronology and annotated bibliography through the year 1960",US Naval School of Aviation Medicine,ONR TR ACR-64 (AD0272581), archived from the original on 11 August 2015,retrieved14 June2011{{citation}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ab "The Story of Laika",moscowanimals.org, archived fromthe originalon 16 August 2006,retrieved26 September2006
  26. ^ab "Message from the First Dog in Space Received 45 Years Too Late",Dogs in the News, 3 November 2002, archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2006,retrieved4 October2006
  27. ^ On this day,BBC, 3 November 1957,archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2015,retrieved26 September2006
  28. ^ "Human Guinea Pigs and Sputnik 2",National Society for Medical Research, November 1957,archivedfrom the original on 20 May 2015,retrieved28 September2006
  29. ^ Boruń, Krzysztof (December 1958), "Astronautyka",Kto, Kiedy, Dlaczego,2(1): 330–331
  30. ^ab Savage, Sam (31 December 2004),"First in Orbit, Laika the Dog Made History",redOrbit,archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015,retrieved27 July2009
  31. ^ "A New Monument for Laika, Russia's Heroic Space Dog",11 April 2008,archivedfrom the original on 16 October 2015
  32. ^"Laika Monument".Atlas Obscura.Archivedfrom the original on 3 December 2022.Retrieved3 November2022.
  33. ^"The dog that orbited the Earth".Witness.BBC NewsMagazine. 8 November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 26 July 2018.Retrieved21 July2018.
  34. ^Georgiou, Aristos (3 November 2019)."Laika the dog: These are all the animals that have been into space".Newsweek.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2023.Retrieved4 November2022.
  35. ^Siddiqi (2000),p. 252
  36. ^Siddiqi (2000),p. 259
  37. ^"The Widening Gyre: 2012 Best of the Year Anthologies",byPaul Kincaid,Los Angeles Review of Books,September 3, 2012

Sources

Further reading

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