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Animal astronauts
Astraycatplucked from the streets of Paris became the first and
only feline sent into space. The French had previously launched
three rats into space and wanted to upgrade to larger mammals to
study how they responded to weightlessness. To this end, researchers
captured 14 cats to train for the journey into space. These would-be
feline astronauts were subjected to surgery to implant electrodes in
their brains, and testing which included compression chambers and
centrifuges. In the end Félicette – a petite tuxedo cat – was chosen
for the mission – she was not a late replacement for a male cat called
Felix who had escaped, as has been widely misreported. Aboard a
Véronique AGI sounding rocket launched from a base in the Sahara
Desert, she f lew 157 kilometres (97.5 miles) above Earth and spent
several minutes in zero gravity, all while scientists monitored her
progress via the electrodes implanted in her brain. Félicette survived
her trip to space and her return to Earth. Sadly, after living for two to
three months back on Earth, she was put down so her brain could be
studied.Asecondandfinalfelinewaslaunchedtowardsspaceless
thantwoweekslater,butthatrocketfailedontakeoff,leadingtothe
lossofitsfurrycrew.Thankstoa Kickstartercampaignraisingabout
£43,000($57,000),Félicettewasrecentlycommemoratedwhena
bronzestatuehonouringtheoneandonlyspacecatwasunveiledat
theInternationalSpaceUniversityinStrasbourg,France.
The one and
only space cat
Survived
BringingnewmeaningtoAesop’sfableofThe
TortoiseandtheHare, intheracetotheMoon
betweentheUSandUSSR,itwastwosteppe
tortoiseswhopippedtheApollo 8 crewinbeing
thefirstvertebratestosuccessfullyjourneyaround
ourlunarcompanion.Launchingfroma modified
SoyuzcapsuleinsouthernKazakhstan,the
unnamedtortoises– joinedbymealworms,
winef lies,plants,seeds,bacteriaandotherlife,plus
a 70kilogrammannequincontainingradiation
detectorsinthepilot’sseat– weresentona
circumlunartrajectory,loopingaroundthe
Moonbutnotorbitingit.Duringthistimethe
Zond5 spacecraftreacheda closestdistanceof
1,950kilometres(1,212miles)fromtheMoon
andtookhigh-qualityphotographsoftheEarth
ata distanceof90,000kilometres(55,920miles).
Alloccupantssurvivedtheirtrip,splashingdown
intheIndianOceanon 21 September.Upon
assessmentbackonland,Sovietscientistsreported
thatthetortoiseshadlosttenpercentoftheirbody
weightbutotherwiseseemedtobeingoodhealth,
remainingactiveandshowingnolossofappetite.
Laterhalf-shelledspacepioneersincludetortoises
launchedaboardSoyuz 20 on 17 November1975.
Thesetortoisessettherecordforthelongesttime
anyanimalhasspentoutsideEarth’satmosphere–
90.5days.
Slow and steady
wins the race
Survived
“A stray cat from the
streets of Parisbecame
the first and only
feline sent into space”
1
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Félicetteis
theoneand
onlyfeline
tohaveever
successfully
ventured
intospace
Two tortoises
pipped the
Apollo 8
crew in being
the first
vertebrates
to reach
the Moon
© Hulton Deutsch / Getty
© NASA
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