My name is Michael and I have been reading on Facebook about early NASA missions in which animals were sent into space … She was launched on the Soviet Union's Sputnik 2 mission in November 1957. Let us learn about some animals that have got the honour of being astronauts. NASA on the Commons (please use search) Effect of Space Environment on Mammalian Reproduction (Space Pup) Spiders in Space . Many tests can be done on people while they work in space. NASA Image and Video Library (Over 500 results, please use search bar) NASA continued sending monkeys to orbit all the way into the 1990s, when pressure from animal rights groups, including PETA, pushed the space agency to reexamine the ethics of such research. Some animals have been sent up as part of experiments designed by students, others by NASA and other countries. Image credits: Michael1979 So, Michael sent a formal physical letter to NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., which read: “Dear sir/madam. Demand that NASA stop enabling cruel animal … Timeline of Animals in Space (pdf) Laika . That is why NASA wants to use animals. The first aquanauts to reach space were a type of minnow found in salt marshes – the mummichog – plus 50 eggs. Animals would only go when they must. They take animals into space. Laika, a stray Russian stray dog, went to space on November 3, 1957. On February 20, 1947, the United States sent some fruit flies into space to study radiation exposure at high altitudes. Fruit flies. A group of mice were blasted into orbit this month to be used in a series of experiments at NASA’s International Space Centre. Laika, a mixed-breed dog, was the first living being in orbit. NASA likes to use computer models or astronauts. 1 Sadly, the mice will not make it back to Earth alive. Animals are frequently used to model human disease as … The first animal, a macaque monkey called … A Brief History of Animals in Space. NASA wants to know what the body does in less gravity. Photos: Pioneering Animals in Space. 1. Some tests on people get in the way of their work. A lot of animals have been to space, including dogs, monkeys, tortoises, and even a cat. 2. Unfortunately, sending animals into space is nothing new. The goal of the Space Biology Program in the animal biology area is to understand the basic mechanisms that animals use to adapt and/or acclimate to spaceflight and alterations in gravity in general. “Nasa has many strengths, but when it comes to animal welfare practices, they’re obsolete.” A Nasa spokesperson said: “Nasa does not have any non-human primates in Nasa or Nasa … By 2004, the space shuttle program had … Dogs. 10 Animal Astronauts in Space. ... NASA . It was 1973 and Nasa were keen to observe the effects of microgravity on animals that moved three dimensionally on Earth. Twenty-seven monkeys were killed in February 2019 by a company called LifeSource Biomedical Services who was leasing space in a NASA building. 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