Laika the dog was not the first animal to travel to space; before her there were other animals that did.
But Laika was the first living being in history that managed to get into orbit with the Earth. Although he would never return from that trip.
It took place on November 3, 1957, in the middle of the Cold War. The USSR had started the space race against the US by launching the first human artifact into space, Sputnik 1. Laika traveled aboard the so-called Sputnik 2. The objective was to test security of these trips to outer space for humans.
Just a week before the mission was ready, Laika was picked up while wandering the streets of Moscow. For days, they put her through multiple tests and training.
For a long time it was believed that Laika died without pain. But in 2002 the true cause of his death was revealed: he died a few hours after takeoff in a panic and due to the overheating of the spacecraft.
As Mecano sang in his tribute song:
And if we listen to the legend
Then we will have to think
That on Earth there is one less bitch
And in the sky one more star
