Just like Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, and Pavlov’s dogs, who aided in the discovery of the psychological process known as classical conditioning, Laika made invaluable contributions to our knowledge of science. Laika’s story is comparable to the hundreds of other animals who have been tested in order to further our understanding of scientific concepts. It is immoral for humans to test upon animals for the better of human society,” said Venujan Suhanthan ’24. “Even if they were just stray dogs, this is very similar to animal testing for cosmetics and medicine. Laika’s story raises various questions regarding the ethics of using animals for scientific research. This was an unexpected result on the Soviet’s end they hoped she would survive for several days before a painless death from oxygen deprivation. Unfortunately, a few hours into orbit, Laika passed away from overheating in her capsule due to the poorly designed cooling system of Sputnik 2. Laika’s respiration during the launch shows that she successfully made it into orbit alive. On November 3rd, 1957, the time had come for Sputnik 2 to be launched into orbit. However, while the Soviets treated Laika as a symbol of scientific achievement, the West sympathized with her, believing she would be an unnecessary death resulting from tensions between the two global superpowers. She appeared on a variety of products, including stamps, postcards, and matchboxes. Laika gained a lot of attention from the public after the mission was announced, becoming an icon in the Soviet Union. While being introduced to the public on Moscow Radio on October 27th, 1957, Kudryavka barked and was given the name Laika, Russian for “barker.” Having successfully completed her tests, Kudryavka was chosen to board Sputnik 2. Swept off the streets of Moscow, a small female mutt named Kudryavka, along with a group of other female strays, participated in a series of tests which evaluated their ability to be trained and adapt to the equipment. Soviet scientists believed that stray dogs had already adapted to the harsh conditions of Russia, so they decided that they were perfect to use for the launch of Sputnik 2. Soviet engineers rushed to complete the blueprint of Sputnik 2, as former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev wanted the spacecraft to launch on the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, in which Russia abolished the Tsar rule and adopted a socialist government. They ultimately decided on engineering a second Sputnik satellite, which they decided would be the first spacecraft to carry a live animal. In order to prevent the United States from catching up too quickly to their recent achievement, the Soviet Union knew they needed to come up with something more extraordinary, more complex, and more impressive. The Soviet Union predicted that this advancement would cause the United States to expedite their education and time on space research. This was not an easy task, however, and it required extensive amounts of research, trials, and error.ġ957 was a tumultuous time at the beginning of this race, with the Soviet Union having already launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. Scanned by user Neozoon, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsĪfter her mission was announced to the public, Laika became a celebrity in the Soviet Union, appearing on products ranging from stamps to matchboxes.ĭuring the dramatic and eventful period of time during the Cold War known as the Space Race, Soviet and American scientists rushed to be the first to successfully land a person on the moon.
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