This one was full of space paraphernalia, astronaut dolls, and NASA shirts. But what caught my eye were the dog plushies in ...

On November 3, 1957, a Soviet space dog named Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth. Laika was a 3-year-old stray ...

James Findlay spoke with American writer Kurt Caswell about his own mission to understand more about this fascinating chapter ...

Laika was the first animal to orbit Earth. Learn why she was chosen, how she was trained, and how her historic 1957 mission helped shape human space travel.

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 ...

Sixty-eight years ago, on November 3, 1957, a historic event unfolded when Laika, a small stray dog from Moscow, became the first living creature to orbit Earth aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, ...

1. A path of burning light -- 2. Animals in the heavens -- 3. The making of a space dog -- 4. Scouting the atmosphere -- 5. A face in the window -- 6. First around the Earth -- Epilogue Summary The ...

In 1963, France launched Félicette, the first cat into space aboard a Véronique AGI 47 rocket. Her 13-minute suborbital ...