Soviet Bion life science satellites (1987-92): In September 1987, Bion 8 carried two monkeys that survived the flight and several fish that did not. Soviet Zond 6 probe (November 1968): The biological payload of flies, bacteria and turtles successfully flew around the moon, but a lost gasket on the return resulted in a loss of cabin pressure and the death of all of the biological specimens. But the mission was axed nine days in and Bonnie returned to Earth, only to die eight hours after recovery due to a heart attack brought on by dehydration. He was supposed to fly for 30 days while scientists studied him. Biosatellite III carried a male, pig-tailed monkey named Bonnie. Two more dogs, Pchelka and Muska, along with mice and insects, died when the reentry capsule for Korabl Sputnik 3 burned up.Ītlas E rocket (November 1961): The rocket blew up 35 seconds after launch, killing Goliath, a one-and-a-half-pound squirrel monkey.īiosatellite series (1966-9): Biosatellite I carried a payload of biological experiments, including insects and frog eggs, but it was never recovered due to a failure of its retrorocket. The first Korabl Sputnik exploded on launch, killing two dogs, Bars and Lisichka. Korabl Sputnik (1960): These Soviet rockets were precursors to the manned Vostok spacecraft. The backup mouse crew died when the upper stage of the rocket fired downward. The launch was scrubbed when the mice were discovered dead: Their cage had been sprayed with krylon, which the mice found tasty and licked right up - to their death. And 14 mice were destroyed when the rocket they were aboard failed its successful launch in September 1959.ĭiscoverer 3 spy satellite (June 1959): The first crew of four black mice never even made it off the platform. Jupiter rockets (1958-9): Gordo, a squirrel monkey, died in December 1958 when the floatation mechanism on his splashdown vehicle malfunctioned. Wilkie, the third mouse, was also lost at sea. Laska, the mouse on Reentry 2, survived 45 minutes of weightlessness, but the nose cone in which she resided was never recovered. Thor-able rockets (1958-9): The first of these rockets, Reentry 1, carried a mouse, which was lost with the rocket after launch. They had not figured out a strategy for her re-entry, and Laika died after a few hours in space and eventually burned up with the spacecraft in the outer atmosphere months later. But she not only became famous under an assumed moniker (her real name was Kudryavka), but also the Soviets never had a plan for her survival. Sputnik 2 (1957): Laika is probably the most famous dog to ever go to space. Dezik and Lisa died in September 1951, and two more died during a later failed launch. Soviet R-1 series (1951-2): The Soviets sent up a total of nine dogs, in combinations of two at a time (some were sent up on more than one trip), on R-1 series rockets in 19. Albert IV met a similar fate on December 12, 1949, as did a mouse sent up the next year. V-2 rockets (1949-50): A rocket carrying Albert II, the second monkey to be sent into space on June 14, 1949, launched successfully, but the animal died on impact when the rocket hit Earth. Here’s a list of just some of the spacecraft that have carried animals into space whose biological payloads didn’t survive the journey: After all, spaceflight has proved deadly for humans - something to remember before signing up to go to Mars.) About a third of all animals sent up didn’t make it, according to one estimate. Since then, however, the success rate has been spotty. The first journey, in 1947, was actually a success: Fruit flies carried aboard a V-2 rocket were recovered alive.
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