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    Far before man landed on the moon, animals were soaring through space. Scientists were unsure how prolonged weightlessness would affect humans, so they used monkeys, chimps and dogs as the first pioneers. With the help of the following animals, American and Russian scientists made leaps and bounds in space research. To celebrate Neil Armstrong's moon landing 43 years ago today, we're honoring his fellow astro-animals. 

    Miss Baker

    On May 28, 1959, at 2:39 a.m., this tiny squirrel monkey was one of the first two animals launched into space by the United States. She was one of 25 squirrel monkeys that were purchased at a pet shop in Miami and brought to the Naval Aviation Medical School in Pensacola. Among the group, Miss Baker stood out because of her intelligence and loving manner. Outfitted with a tiny helmet and little jacket, Miss Baker was fitted into a shoebox-sized capsule and launched into space alongside Albert I, a rhesus monkey. After their successful flight, Baker landed on the cover of Life magazine.

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    Fruit Flies

    The first animals sent into space were fruit flies. In 1946, the bugs were flown inside a U.S. V-2 rocket in an attempt to assess the effects of radiation. Ever since then, thousands of fruit flies have flown to and from space, aboard Russian and U.S. missions alike. 

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    Albert II

    Albert II, a rhesus monkey, became the first rhesus in space on June 14, 1949. He reached 83 miles on a V-2 Blossom III rocket from White Sands Proving Ground, a NASA space station in New Mexico. Although he died after his flight, Albert II helped the U.S. launch research that eventually would lead to Neil Armstrong's flight to the moon.

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    MICE

    On Aug. 31, 1950, the U.S. launched the first mouse into space abroad an American V-2 rocket. The following year, 11 mice flew aboard the 1951 U.S. Aerobee missile flight. In 1961, France flew Hector, the first rat in space. He successfully flew 93 miles. Mice and rats continue to fly in space today. 

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    Dezik and Tsygan 

    On July 22, 1951, the Soviet Union sent two dogs named Tsygan and Dezik in the R-1 IIIA-1. They were the first dogs to make a sub-orbital flight into space. Both dogs were unharmed after travelling to an altitude of 110 km. Dezik made another sub-orbital flight in September, but sadly did not survive. After Dezik's death, Tsygan was adopted as a pet by Soviet physicist Anatoli Blagonravov. 

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    GUINEA PIGS

    Guinea pigs were launched into space on March 9, 1961 and flew with the Soviet Sputnik 9 spacecraft. They did not travel alone, however. They went along with a dog named Chermushka, a dummy cosmonaut named Ivanovich, and a large array of reptiles and mice. All of the animals made it back to Earth alive with a successful recovery. 

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    Laika

    Laika the dog became the first living Earth-born creature (other than microbes) in orbit aboard Sputnik 2 on Nov. 3, 1957. The American media knew the brave dog as "Muttnik." Sadly, Laika did not survive the flight, but her groundbreaking trip would make her a part of space history.

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    BULLFROGS

    In March of 1961, the Vostok 3A flights of Soviet Union carried guinea pigs and frogs for the first time, but it wouldn't be until several years later that they'd have their spotlight in space. On Nov. 9, 1970, two bullfrogs went into space on the Orbiting Frog Otolith satellite to have a better understanding of motion sickness. Otolith would refer to the frog's inner-ear balance mechanism. The results were successful. 

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    Marfusha 

    On July 2, 1959, Marfusha became the first rabbit astronaut to fly on a high altitude test flight aboard an R2-A rocket. The dog pictured behind her was her in-flight companion. Both survived their mission successfully. Marfusha paved the way for other rabbit astronauts to fly into space. 

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    Felix the Cat

    A former street cat, Felix was the first of his kind to ever go into space in October of 1963. Sent by France, this space cat-det was strapped onto a Veronique AGI rocket and survived! Felix was previously a street cat, and is one that will always be remembered. She is so loved that there are even haikus written about her. 

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    Turtles

    Two turtles were launched into space on Sept. 15, 1968. They were abroad the spacecraft Zond 5. The craft made a loop around the moon on Sept. 18, and returned to earth safely on Sept. 21, despite some slight weight loss. That wasn't their last stint in space, however. The Islamic Republic of Iran sent turtles along with worms and rats aboard the Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) in 2010. 

  • Wikipedia
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    Ham

    Ham, also known as Ham the Astrochimp, was the first chimpanzee launched into outer space in the American space program. His name is an acronym for the lab that prepared him for his historic mission, the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, located in New Mexico. On Jan. 31, 1961, Ham was launched in a Project Mercury mission labeled MR-2 and flew in a 16-minute-long suborbital flight. After his successful mission, Ham lived for 17 years at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. 

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