Laika: A bitch on a 'suicide' space mission, a key figure in the chapter on human space travel

 Man's dream of traveling in space is as old as human civilization itself. The development of the rocket that assisted in this voyage began between 347 and 428 BC when the Egyptian philosopher and astronomer R. K. Tass first developed a machine that could fly in the air. 

The evolution of rockets continued with centuries of human evolution, and space travel was first introduced as a regular possibility by Robert H. Goddard. Although Goddard has been criticized all his life for his laws and research, the fact is that the world today acknowledges that it was Robert Goddard who made space travel possible thanks to his research on liquid fuels. In the 20 years since Goddard's death, the United States and Russia have made rapid progress in rocket development and space travel. Although the United States was technically far ahead of Russia, it began with Russia's Sputnik space program. The series, consisting of three space missions, began on October 4, 1957 with Sputnik One. This artificial satellite reached 940 km of apogee and 230 km of perigee. It should be noted that Apoji is called the farthest place in space from Earth and Perezi is the closest place. A month later, the Sputnik II spacecraft was launched into space, a unique mission of its kind.

Russia and the United States have been pushing hard to send the first manned space mission into space and outdo each other, but scientists and physicists at the time were unaware of the harmful effects of space on human health and astronauts. Will be possible to return alive? On November 3, 1957, in a major step forward, Russia sent a dog named Laika for the first time into orbit with the Sputnik II spacecraft. Let's try to find out about this brave and amazing animal that plays an important role in the chapter of human space travel.

Why was a bitch chosen? 

According to the engineers who designed Sputnik II, the mission was launched very quickly with the information and data obtained from Sputnik One without proper research, so that on November 7, 1957, the 40th anniversary of the Great Bashiuk Revolution of Russia was successfully completed. Celebrated with fanfare. Although Leica was not the first animal to be sent into space, more than a dozen dogs had been sent into space before, but their reach was sub-orbital. Veterinarians also suggested choosing a monkey or a cat, but Russian scientists preferred dogs to them. He thought they could be better trained in space travel. Following this decision, engineers worked extremely fast to develop a special compartment in the Sputnik II spacecraft.

How was Leica chosen? 

Russian space agency experts have begun searching for stray dogs instead of pets for Sputnik II. He believed that these animals were more powerful and had become accustomed to enduring hardships. In this research, female dogs were preferred over males as they are not only small in size but can be easily trained. Ten stray dogs were kept in small pressure boxes or capsules for several weeks where they were medically examined several times a day. At the same time, the reaction of dogs to high pressure and noise was noted, for which sensitive devices were installed between their stomachs and legs. After several weeks of analysis, two dogs, Kadriawaka and Safid al-Bina, were selected. Which were also introduced on regular Russian radio. Since barking is called Laika in Russian, Kadriyoka was named Laika for the same reason. Although Albina performed better than Laika, she had recently given birth to children, so astronauts chose three-year-old Laika.

What were the stages before Leica's training and launch? Soviet doctors were aware that this was a suicide mission for a mute animal. Even if Laika survived the orbit, the heat of the Earth's atmosphere would burn it to ashes on the return journey, but risk-taking was needed in the future. Three days before launch, Laika was placed in a cramped chamber where only a few inches could be moved. He was dressed in a specially designed space suit with sensors installed. Khetrin Lewis, overseer of the International Space Program and Space Suits, said a few years later that the spacecraft had very little food for Laika, although a few ounces of food did not make much difference in weight. That's why a female doctor in the team broke the protocol and gave some food to Laika shortly before the launch. What happened to Laika after the launch? The Sputnik 2 spacecraft was equipped with devices that could directly record Leica's heartbeat and movements. In the first few minutes, Laika's heart rate tripled and her breathing rate quadrupled due to extreme pressure and noise. Despite this, the brave beast managed to reach Earth's orbit at a distance of 2,000 miles and orbited the Earth with a spacecraft for about 103 minutes. In 1993, Oleg Gizenko, a medical doctor and dog trainer on the mission, discovered that the spacecraft had risen to 90 degrees Celsius after completing four orbits due to damage to the spacecraft, causing some Within minutes, Laika died. But the Sputnik II spacecraft orbited the earth for about five months without a passenger. Although Laika died shortly after launch, Soviet officials falsely claimed that Laika lived until November 12. However, the Soviet communists announced nine days later that Laika was dead, but official mission documents released by the Russian space agency did not state the truth.