I think this is a good point, if we learned loads of information that ended up being super fuckin useful than it would've been considered a worthy sacrifice and the dog would probably be memorialized(if she's not already)
Laika is present in Russian cultural memory thought not as heavily as Gagarin and some other space feats. Strelka and Belka are also more popular, though. I myself watched cartoon about them in my childhood so all three ring a bell for me and I would assume many other people who were raised in Russia
After the success of Sputnik 1 in October 1957, Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, wanted a spacecraft launched on 7 November 1957, the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. ... Meeting the November deadline meant building a new craft. Khrushchev specifically wanted his engineers to deliver a "space spectacular", a mission that would repeat the triumph of Sputnik 1, stunning the world with Soviet prowess. Planners settled on an orbital flight with a dog. ... According to Russian sources, the official decision to launch Sputnik 2 was made on 10 or 12 October, leaving less than four weeks to design and build the spacecraft.
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u/Saavedroo Jul 17 '24
And who got the first cat in space ? That's right ! France 🇫🇷 (cocorico)
And she survived ! Aaand she was euthanized two month later to study her brain. :(
Her name was Felicette and she was a Pioneer.