November 6, 2025

Laika: The Little Dog Who Reached for the Stars

68 years ago, a stray from Moscow became the first living creature to orbit Earth, and the first to never return.

68 years ago this week, a small stray dog from Moscow made history. Her name was Laika, a 3-year-old mixed-breed who once roamed the cold streets of the Soviet capital.

In 1957, as the space race was heating up, Soviet scientists chose Laika for a mission that would make her famous, and break the world’s heart.

Laika and two other dogs trained for weeks, learning to sit still in tight spaces and eat through a special feeding system. Eventually, Laika was chosen as the “flight dog.” Officials described her mission as a “sacrifice to science.”

On November 3, 1957, she was launched aboard Sputnik 2, becoming the first living creature ever to orbit the Earth. The spacecraft, however, was not designed for re-entry. There was never a plan to bring her home.

One technician later recalled the final moments before takeoff:

“After placing Laika in the container and before closing the hatch, we kissed her nose and wished her bon voyage, knowing she would not survive the flight.”

Laika died within hours of launch from overheating and stress, a truth that remained hidden for decades. The Soviet Union originally claimed she had lived for several days, but later records revealed what really happened.

Her mission proved that life could endure launch and weightlessness, paving the way for future human spaceflight. But her story also sparked an international outcry, forcing scientists to confront the moral weight of their experiments.

Laika reminds us that exploration often comes at a cost, and that even the smallest travelers can leave an enormous mark on history.

She never made it back to Earth, but in every way that matters, Laika’s name still orbits among the stars.

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