On Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first living animal into outer space. The creature with that distinction was a dog named Laika, who was used to test how safe space travel would be for humans.
Although animals had participated in suborbital launches prior to Laika's flight, none of them reached a full-fledged orbit. Because of this, Laika will always have a special place in history, and it was another coup for the Soviet Union in the Space Race. But when you think about it, Laika's story is ultimately a tragic one. As TIME points out, the Soviet Union essentially sent Laika on a suicide mission because the technology to bring her back to Earth had not yet been developed.
Though that fact is sure to ruffle some feathers among animal activists today, some could argue that Laika paved the way for humans to eventually explore the Final Frontier, leading to numerous scientific and technological discoveries over the years.
Since Laika's groundbreaking trip, many more animals have made their way into space. Here are some of the most notable creatures to make the big trip and what discoveries were made as a result.
1. Sam the rhesus monkey (1959)
Sam is one of the most famous animals to ever enter space. On Dec. 4, 1959, Sam was put in a little capsule in the Mercury spacecraft on the Little Joe rocket to test the launch escape system. Sam was ejected from the rocket, and he was safely recovered in the Atlantic Ocean.
2. Ham the chimpanzee (1961)
Ham continued the long tradition of sending primates to space when he became the first chimpanzee in space on Jan. 31, 1961. He was used to test weightlessness in space, and he was weightless for a total of 6.6 minutes during a 16.5-minute flight. Ham's mission helped make the successful launch of Alan Shepard, America's first astronaut, into space on May 5, 1961. Ham is now buried in front of the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, N.M.
3. Enos the chimpanzee (1961)
On Nov. 29, 1961, Enos became the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth. He was originally supposed to make three orbits, but only completed two after the Mercury Atlas rocket encountered a malfunctioning thruster and other technical difficulties. Still, Enos landed safely, and his mission marked the end of testing for human orbital flight, which John Glenn would make a reality on Feb. 20, 1962. Unfortunately, Enos died of a non-space-related case of dysentary 11 months after his flight.
4. Felicette the cat (1963)
The French launched the first cat into Earth on Oct. 18, 1963. Her name was Felicette, and scientists implanted electrodes in her head to send back information on her neurological state while in space. Felicette returned safely to Earth after her mission.
5. Zond 5 (1968)
Zond 5 was the first successful probe sent into space on Sept. 15, 1968. It included turtles, wine flies, mealworms, plants, seeds, bacteria and other living creatures. These were the first animals to fly around the moon. Seven days later when the capsule re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, the entire payload survived.
6. Water bears (2007)
The water bears, formerly known as tardigrades, are microscopic, eight-legged creatures. In the first test of its kind, water bears were exposed to the open vacuum of space, freezing temperatures and cosmic rays, and many of them survived.
7. Geckos (2014)
In a recent high-profile incident, Russia sent geckos into space to study the effect of weightlessness on their sex lives and development. Unfortunately, when the satellite returned to Earth, it appeared that the geckos may have froze to death.
Image: Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
