On November 3, 1957, a Soviet space dog named Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth. Laika was a 3-year-old stray husky-spitz mix from the streets of Moscow, and she was recruited by the Soviet ...

In March, I visited the Lowell Observatory — the astronomical research site where Pluto was first discovered — in Flagstaff, Arizona. I stood in line to squint through telescopes at Jupiter and the ...

In the late 1950s, Moscow’s streets were full of stray dogs that adapted to freezing nights and scarce food. One small mixed‑breed stood out to Soviet researchers for her calm nature and size. She was ...

Laika the dog was launched into space by the Soviet Union on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1957. She died in a few hours due to overheating but her journey paved the way for human spaceflight. Boise band Laika The ...

Sixty-eight years ago, on November 3, 1957, the world witnessed a historic yet heartbreaking moment when a small stray dog from Moscow, named Laika, became the first living creature to orbit Earth.

Laika, a stray dog from Moscow, became the first living creature to orbit Earth aboard Sputnik 2 in 1957. Her one-way mission, intended to gather data on life in space, tragically ended within hours ...