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Animals in space: from Laika to jellyfish & tortoises

Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about the history of animals in space, from fruit flies and monkeys to Laika the Soviet space dog

Published: December 11, 2021 at 12:03 PM

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Thousands of animals paved the way for human space travel. But for many of them, it was an incredibly painful – or deadly – experience. Stephen Walker tells Rhiannon Davies about this overlooked chapter of space exploration, from Soviet space dogs strapped to rockets and chimpanzees sent up by NASA, to two tortoises who orbited the moon.

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Stephen Walker is the author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space (HarperCollins, 2021)

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Authors

Rhiannon DaviesFreelance journalist

A former BBC History Magazine section editor, Rhiannon has long been fascinated by history and continues to write for HistoryExtra.com. She has appeared on the award-winning HistoryExtra podcast, interviewing experts on a variety of subjects, from Lucy Worsley discussing Agatha Christie to Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the perils of polar exploration

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