Student Question
Which country launched a satellite with a mannequin and a dog into space?
Quick answer:
In November 1957, Russia launched Sputnik 2 into space, carrying a dog named Laika and a mannequin to study the effects of space travel on living beings. Unfortunately, Laika did not survive as the spacecraft was not designed for safe reentry, and she died from stress and overheating within hours. This mission demonstrated the need for better life-support systems in spacecraft for future human space travel.
In November, 1957, Russia launched the Sputnik 2, carrying both a dog named Laika and a mannequin in order to learn more about how travelling into space and orbiting Earth would affect human passengers.
Sadly, Russian scientists knew that Laika would not be returning to Earth, as the Sputnik 2 was not designed to reenter the Earth's atmosphere safely. Originally, Russian scientists reported that Laika died a peaceful death up to a week later following the depletion of oxygen and/or after batteries failed, but there were mixed reports over time. Later it became clear that the cabin overheated within the first 4–5 hours, and Laila died from stress and overheating much earlier than the original reports.
Laika proved that an animal could survive a trip into space but that much work still had to be done on the environmental controls inside the cabin to sustain life.
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