You think humans are the only ones who’ve been to space? Think again! Since the late 1940s, a surprising array of Animals Who Have Traveled to Space, all in the name of science. Starting with fruit flies, the list quickly expanded to include dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, turtles, frogs, and even a lone rabbit. And while the United States kicked off this interspecies space race, other countries soon joined in. The catch? Well, not all of these brave animal astronauts made it back home.
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1. Laika, the Dog
You can’t talk about animal astronauts without mentioning Laika, the trailblazing pup. She’s basically the Neil Armstrong for animals, being the first living creature to orbit the Earth. Sent up on Sputnik 2, Laika was never meant to come back—her oxygen supply was set to run out after seven days. But she actually died much sooner, just after takeoff, because of the unbearable heat in the capsule. Her mission on November 3, 1957, is one of both heroism and tragedy.
2. Able, the Rhesus Monkey
While Miss Baker made it back from space just fine, her partner Able wasn’t so lucky. They both rode in the nose cone of the Jupiter missile, but things took a tragic turn for Able after they landed back on Earth. She had an infected electrode that needed removing, and sadly, she had a bad reaction to the anesthesia during the procedure. Just four days after coming back to Earth, Able passed away.
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3. Belka and Strelka, the Dogs
In the heyday of the space race, the U.S. was busy sending primates skyward, while the Soviets had a different idea—they were picking stray dogs for their missions. Belka and Strelka became canine celebrities when they were sent into orbit on August 19, 1960, along with some unusual travel companions: two rats, a rabbit, fruit flies, and even some plants. The good news? They all made it back to Earth safe and sound, instantly turning Belka and Strelka into stars.
4. Ham, the Chimpanzee
Ham the chimpanzee almost stole Yuri Gagarin’s thunder by becoming the first hominid to venture into space. On January 31, 1961, he soared into the great beyond as part of the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission. The goal was to see how space travel might mess with his thinking skills. Good news: Ham aced all the tests and returned to Earth without a hitch. He spent the rest of his days living the good life at a zoo.
5. Enos, the Chimpanzee
Enos the chimpanzee had a pretty intense space ride on November 29, 1961, as part of the Mercury-Atlas 5 mission. The plan was for him to orbit Earth three times, but things went south when the crew noticed the cabin getting too hot and Enos getting zapped in the feet by electric shocks. Despite these setbacks, the brave chimp still managed to nail all the cognitive tests he was trained for.
6. Miss Baker, the Squirrel Monkey
Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, became a bit of a celebrity after her space adventure on May 28, 1959. She and her fellow traveler, Able, hopped aboard the Jupiter missile for a quick 15-minute flight that reached an impressive altitude of 360 miles. Both monkeys returned safely to Earth, and Miss Baker went on to live a long, celebrated life as a mascot for the space race. She lived until 1984.
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7. Félicette, the French Cat
Félicette, a feline astronaut, earned her place in history as the only cat to venture into space. She was part of the French space program and took a 15-minute ride aboard the Véronique rocket on October 18, 1963. She came back safely but quickly faded from public memory. Luckily, a successful crowdsourcing campaign eventually led to a statue being erected to commemorate this trailblazing cat.
8. NASA’s “Rat-stronaut” Team
NASA developed a special system to house rats on the International Space Station, aiming to understand the long-term effects of microgravity. Called the Rodent Research Hardware System, it was first sent into space on September 21, 2014, as part of the SpaceX-4 mission.
9. Veterok and Ugolyok, the Soviet Space Program Dogs
In the 1950s and ’60s, the Soviet Union was busy launching close to 60 dogs into space as part of their space exploration efforts. Two dogs, Veterok and Ugolyok, became particularly famous for their 22-day journey orbiting Earth aboard the Kosmos 110 spacecraft. They safely returned to Earth on March 16, 1966, making their mission one of the most celebrated in canine space history.
10. Sam, the Little Rhesus Monkey
In 1959, Sam the rhesus monkey had a brief but impactful journey to space as part of the Mercury project. Aboard the rocket Little Joe-2, Sam got to experience three minutes of weightlessness. Luckily, he was in good shape when the military picked him up from the Atlantic Ocean after his capsule made its descent.
11. Arabella and Anita, the Spiders
Can spiders weave a web in space? NASA wanted to find out, so they took two diadem spiders, Arabella and Anita, on the Skylab mission. The idea for this unique experiment actually came from a high school student. Turns out, the spiders adapted to the zero-gravity environment and successfully spun their webs. Sadly, both Arabella and Anita didn’t make it back to Earth; they died of dehydration before the mission was over.
12. Miss Sam, the Emergency-procedure Rhesus Monkey
Miss Sam, who was Sam’s training partner, also got her turn to take part in the Mercury program tests. Her mission was a bit more modest, though—she only went up to an altitude of about 9 miles (15 km). Good news is, she was found alive and well in her capsule after the mission.
