Humanity successfully made its first crewed landing on the moon in 1969 with the Apollo 11 spacecraft. But in this cosmic journey, there were many animals that paved the way for humanity.
1)- FRUIT FLIES
Scientists were trying to determine the effect that cosmic radiation could have on astronauts, and for this, they selected fruit flies which is genetically similar to humans. In 1947, the V-2 ballistic missile was loaded with fruit flies and launched to the altitude of 109 km.The capsule fell into New Mexico and the flies were still alive when they opened the capsule. However, nothing about the effects of radiation was found.
2)- MONKEYS
In 1949, 32 monkeys were sent into space, including Rhesus macaque, pig-tailed monkey, cynomolgus monkey, squirrel-tailed monkey and chimpanzee. The first of these was a rhesus macaque named Albert II. It reached up to 134 km but died as a result of impact due to a parachute malfunction.
3)- MICE
These rodents have been used for many years to learn more about how space travel will affect humans. It is also known that these creatures can quickly adapt to microgravity conditions. The first mouse sent to space in 1950 reached an altitude of 137 km but died when the rocket ripped out due to a parachute failure.
4)- DOGS
Many dogs were sent to space during the former Soviet Union. The most famous one was Laika, a hybrid puppy sent in 1957. Although other dogs have been sent to space before, Laika became the first animal to orbit around Earth but couldn’t return.The statements made were that the oxygen was came to an end on the sixth day.But the true cause of Laika’s death was made public in 2002. Laika was passed away within hours of overheating.
5)- TORTOISES
In 1968, the Russians launched the Zond 5 spaceship with two steppe tortoises, including the first terrestrial specimens such as soil and seeds. Turtles circled the moon twice and returned to Earth six days later. Capsule went off course on the way back and reclaimed from the Indian Ocean. The tortoises lost 10% of their weight but they were still alive.
6)- FROGS
In 1970, Nasa launched the Orbiting Frog Otolith spacecraft with two frogs into orbit to learn about the effects of the non-gravity environment on the inner ear balance mechanism. Scientists implanted electrons in frogs’ vestibular systems inside the ear. Studies have shown that the frogs get used to it after six days and their systems have returned to normal.
7)- SPIDERS
In 1973, two garden spiders, Athens and Arabella, were used in a space experiment to see if they could weave a web in space. As a result, both spiders succeeded in weaving, even though the web they wove were thinner than they wove on Earth.
8)- FISH
First fish on space travel in 1973 were marshes, the mummichog and some 50 fish eggs found in salt marshes. As a result of the research, fish swam with oval movements rather than straight lines.This was because there was no gravity.
9)- TARDIGRADES
Tardigrades are the first animals that survived in outer space. These invertebrate microscopic creatures, also known as water bears, can live in almost any conditions on Earth. These super-durable microscopic creatures orbited around the Earth outside of rocket for 10 days in 2007. Scientists have discovered that 68% of these creatures have survived from extreme cold and radiation.
10)- NEMATODES
In 2003, the Columbia space shuttle has crashed when it entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and 7 astronauts on board have died.There were 80 science experiments on the shuttle, and when these were removed from the debris, it was found that a living group of nematodes, also known as roundworms, survived from the extreme heat. Nematodes are still using to study the effect of space travel on organisms.
Kathleen Sanzley
