Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1Drosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogasterA shipment of fruit flies lifted off from White Sands, New Mexico, on February 20, 1947. Researchers wanted to know what cosmic radiation might do to living things at high altitude. The rocket reached about 68 miles (109 kilometers), and the flies parachuted back alive. The pictured fly represents…0
  2. 2LaikaLaikaSputnik 2 made Laika the first animal to orbit Earth in November 1957. The Soviet spacecraft carried equipment to track her condition, but it had no system to bring her back. She died early in the flight, within hours according to later accounts.0
  3. 3Miss BakerMiss BakerBaker, a squirrel monkey, and Able, a rhesus macaque, flew aboard an American Jupiter rocket in May 1959. The team monitored the animals through launch, weightlessness, and return. Both were recovered alive. Able died a few days later under anesthesia before an electrode could be removed, while…0
  4. 4Belka and StrelkaBelka and StrelkaThe Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka shared a capsule with other animals and biological samples. In August 1960, they returned alive after orbiting Earth, showing that a spacecraft of the type being developed for human flight could bring living passengers back.0
  5. 5Ham (chimpanzee)Ham (chimpanzee)On January 31, 1961, Ham became the first chimpanzee in space. He performed a trained lever task during the suborbital Mercury flight, helping test whether a passenger could work controls through launch and weightlessness. His capsule splashed down well beyond the planned recovery point, and he…0
  6. 6Enos (chimpanzee)Enos (chimpanzee)Enos became the first chimpanzee to orbit Earth on November 29, 1961. He performed a series of trained tasks during the flight. A faulty lever punished some correct answers with an electric shock. Controllers called him home after two orbits because of other spacecraft problems, and he was…0
  7. 7FélicetteFélicetteIn October 1963, French researchers sent Félicette on a brief suborbital flight aboard a Véronique rocket. Their instruments tracked her brain activity during the flight. She returned alive and was later euthanized for examination. Her portrait appeared on this commemorative card.0
  8. 8Zond 5 tortoisesZond 5 tortoisesTwo steppe tortoises flew around the Moon on the Soviet Zond 5 mission in September 1968. They survived the flight and a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Scientists who examined the tortoises reported some weight loss, but otherwise found them in good health.0
  9. 9American bullfrogAmerican bullfrogIn 1970, the Orbiting Frog Otolith experiment sent two bullfrogs into Earth orbit to study how inner-ear balance sensors respond to weightlessness. NASA recorded changes in nerve activity, then found that the response to a brief spin returned to normal by the fifth day. Other changes persisted. The…0
  10. 10Little pocket mouseLittle pocket mouseFive little pocket mice flew in the Apollo 17 command module in 1972. The experiment used radiation detectors to look for links between cosmic-ray tracks and changes in tissue. Four survived the mission. This picture shows the species used in the experiment.0