On November 3rd, 1957, Laika the dog became the first living animal to orbit Earth. Sent into orbit by the Soviet Union, Laika flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft. Little was known about the effects of spaceflight on living creatures by the time of Laika's mission, although many engineers saw these missions as a necessary precursor to human missions. Because the technology to de-orbit had not been developed yet, Laika's survival was never expected, and she died from overheating only hours into the flight during the craft's fourth orbit. Laika's true cause of death was not made public until 2002, and it was instead widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six.
