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On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history as the first human to venture into space. However, he was not the earliest living creature to make the journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Over the past century, humanity has built a remarkable tradition of sending animals into space, some with plans for recovery and others not meant to return to Earth.
10. Cats
Housecats were relatively late entrants to the space race compared to other animals. The French sent the first cat into space on October 18, 1963. Whether the feline was a stray named Felix or a female cat named Felicette is still debated. Felix (or Felicette) had a successful mission, but a follow-up flight a week later ended tragically for the cat. Fifty years later, the Iranian government, eager to expand its space program, announced plans to launch a Persian cat into space in early 2014.
9. Rodents
Rodents have been key participants in space research for many years. Mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs have all ventured into space as part of various scientific experiments. In 2001, biomedical engineer Ted Bateman, in collaboration with NASA and biotech company Amgen, used mice to study a protein known as osteoprotegerin. This protein was thought to help prevent bone loss related to aging, and since space accelerates the aging process, it provided the ideal setting for the research. The protein proved effective, and further studies could potentially help prevent bone diseases like osteoporosis in the future.
In another experiment, rats were used by Jeffrey Alberts, a professor of psychology at Indiana University. He exposed pregnant rats to zero-gravity conditions and studied their offspring to examine the behavior of animals that had never experienced gravity, revealing a more intricate and diverse range of movements.
8. Fish
In 2012, the Japanese HTV-3 supply ship arrived at the International Space Station, bringing along an aquarium filled with fish known as “medaka.” These fish were ideal for scientific experiments due to their rapid breeding and transparent skin, allowing scientists to easily observe their internal organs. Like other animals, they were monitored for bone degeneration and muscle loss. Despite being submerged in water, the fish were exposed to microgravity, causing them to behave unusually, swimming in circular patterns rather than in straight lines.
7. Chimpanzees
As humans' closest living relatives, chimpanzees have played a vital role in the space program. The first chimp to travel into space was Ham, a wild chimp captured in Cameroon in 1959. He underwent harsh training at Holloman Air Force Base, where he learned commands through a system of positive and negative reinforcement. When Ham obeyed, he was rewarded with a banana pellet, but defiance resulted in mild electric shocks.
Ham’s test flight, known as Mercury-Redstone 2, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 31, 1961. Despite several malfunctions during the mission, Ham performed admirably, and his space suit provided ample protection. Afterward, he lived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and the North Carolina Zoo. He passed away at the age of 26.
Ham was followed by Enos, a more thoroughly trained chimpanzee who successfully orbited Earth twice. He safely returned home, overjoyed to reunite with his human companions. Sadly, Enos' life had a tragic conclusion. He died from dysentery (likely unrelated to his space journey) about 11 months later.
6. Monkeys
Various monkey species, including squirrel monkeys, macaques, and rhesus monkeys, have been sent into space. The rhesus monkey, renowned for its contributions to medical research and its high intelligence, was also the first primate ever to be cloned.
Albert II, a rhesus monkey, became the first primate to travel into space after his predecessor, Albert, tragically suffocated during a flight. Albert II's journey marked the beginning of a series of unfortunate fates for the Alberts—III, IV, V, and VI—each of whom also died, with Albert IV passing away just hours after returning to Earth. Several other countries, including Argentina, France, and Russia, have sent monkeys into space, but unfortunately, many of them did not survive.
5. Amphibians
Amphibians, including frogs, toads, and newts, have long been used by scientists to assess environmental health. As creatures that live both on land and in water, amphibians are highly sensitive to changes such as climate shifts, pollution, and the spread of diseases, often being the first to show signs of environmental distress.
Numerous frogs have been sent into space, and in a rather bizarre event, one frog found itself caught in the deadly path of a flight it wasn’t even part of. Photographs of NASA’s Minotaur V rocket launching in Virginia made the news, with an airborne frog visible in the foreground. The USSR’s Bion 7 mission in 1985 also saw Iberian ribbed newts being sent into space, as scientists were curious to observe how space’s environment might influence the newts' regenerative abilities.
4. Nematodes
Nematodes, or roundworms, are primarily parasitic creatures, responsible for diseases like trichinosis and infecting pets like dogs as heartworms. Despite their harmful nature, they have made several space voyages, including accompanying the Apollo 16 mission to the moon.
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia tragically broke apart upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts onboard. However, amidst the wreckage, a locker containing a nematode experiment was found. Miraculously, the worms were still alive. These nematodes demonstrated that they experienced some of the same effects as humans during space travel, such as muscle degeneration and symptoms of diabetes.
3. Dogs
The USSR gained fame for sending several dogs into space. Surprisingly, instead of using purebred, lab-bred dogs, they chose stray mutts, believing that these resilient street dogs would have stronger constitutions than their more sheltered counterparts. The selection of canines was also due to their trainability and comfort with small, confined spaces. Interestingly, all the dogs chosen were female, as designing a space suit to collect waste from females proved to be easier.
The most famous of these space dogs was Laika, a stray found wandering the streets of Moscow. Laika became the first animal ever to orbit the Earth, embarking on a suicide mission aboard Sputnik 2. While most animals sent into space were intended to be retrieved, Laika's fate was sealed from the start. After a few days, she was to be given poisoned food to prevent her from suffering a slow death from starvation. Tragically, the spacecraft overheated, and Laika’s vital signs ceased within five to seven hours of launch.
In 1960, two dogs, Belka and Strelka, made history as the first animals to survive a spaceflight. The following year, Strelka had puppies. In a symbolic act of friendship, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gifted one of the puppies, named Pushinka, to Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy. Pushinka later had her own litter with the Kennedy family’s Welsh terrier, Charlie, and the President humorously referred to their offspring as “pupniks.”
2. Spiders
Spiders, despite being some of the most feared and despised creatures on Earth, have been involved in numerous space research projects. In 2011, two golden orb spiders, named Gladys and Esmerelda, were sent to the International Space Station where they spun webs and hunted in microgravity. The golden orb spider was chosen due to its tendency to dismantle its web every night and rebuild it, providing scientists with a unique opportunity to study the creation of multiple webs.
In 2011, a jumping spider named Nefertiti also lived aboard the ISS. Rather than spinning a web, Nefertiti opted to hunt her prey by pouncing on it. Interestingly, zero gravity had little impact on her hunting behavior. Once she returned to Earth, Nefertiti was retired to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s insect zoo.
1. Water Bears
The conditions of space are almost beyond imagination: a vacuum devoid of oxygen, fluctuating from scorching heat to freezing cold, and flooded with radiation that could melt your bones. Without a space suit, a human could survive only a few seconds before losing consciousness. But passing out would be the least of your worries, as you would be unaware of the impending freezing death or the collapse of your lungs from the pressure of the air you once breathed.
Water bears are among the hardiest creatures on Earth, able to endure conditions that would obliterate almost any other organism. These microscopic, plump creatures resemble bloated caterpillars and seem nearly indestructible. When faced with extreme environments, water bears enter a state of suspended animation, halting most of their biological processes, enabling them to survive without food or water for years—even in temperatures ranging from extreme heat to near absolute zero. In 2007, around 3,000 water bears were sent on the European Space Agency’s Foton-M3 mission, where they proved capable of surviving the vacuum of space.
