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Space fruit flies?
In February of 1947, a some brilliant people decided to put fruit flies on a space ship and send them off to test radiation levels in space. I think you`ll be glad to hear that they were discovered alive on their return. Although it`s not widely known fruit flies have been to space, you better respect the little BUGgers (hah, pun) because they were, in fact, the first creatures in space! -
Monkeys
In 1948, June 11th, some brilliant people decided to launch one of the most brilliant animals into space! Monkeys have been in space programs for lots of countries, including the US, Russia, and France. The first monkey astronaut was named Albert, a Rhesus monkey who was launched 63 km into the air. -
Mice in space!
So, I`m not a big fan of these little guys, but you gotta admit, they`re pretty adorable. In the August of 1950, on the very last day of the month, a V2 rocket was sent into orbit with a cargo of mice. Sadly, on return, the parachute failed and the mice died on impact. -
Dogs. Dogs, in space. More specifically, stray doggos put in space by the soviet space program named Laika
Laika was a female Mongrel dog taken in by the Soviet space program, and was the first being to enter space. When she was found, she was approximately 3 years old, and weighed eleven pounds. The Soviet space program decided to take in soviet strays, because they could already endure situations of extreme cold and hunger. On December 17th, 2015, the song "On the Rocks" by Ken Ashcorp was released, which, in the second verse, makes references to Laika. I don`t what that verse means, however. RIP. -
Oh my GOD. That`s even cuter!
So, cats themselves. Amazing. I love it! But, uhhh... Imagine cats. Floating around. In Zero gees. Yeah. That`s amazing! October 18th of 1963 is the first time a cat had been launched into space. The rocket`s nose cone had separated at 120 miles during the 15 minute flight and descended by parachute. The landing was PURR-fect! I`m sorry, that was clawful. All right, all right, I`ll stop. -
Various ages of space astronaut turtles!
These turtles are not ninjas, or mutants, but they are astronauts! On September 15th of 1968, turtles made a full revolution around the moon! Zord 2 was launched, with a crew of 2 turtles and an entire space program. Of course, the entire space program was back on earth, and the turtles were in a spaceship. But yeah, space turtles, man. Space turtles. -
Spider astronaut, spider astronaut!
So, these guys are kinda terrifying, and trust me, they are much scarier in SPACE! Spiders have been launched into space since the early 70`s! Arabella and Anita were the first spiders in space, being launched in 1973, as part of the Skylab 3 mission. The experiment was done to see if spiders could spin webs in weightlessness. Although both of them died of dehydration, the experiment was successful, and both of them did successfully spin webs. I do not know the exact date they were launched. -
SPAAAACE FEEEEEEESH
You know those people who compare Space to an ocean? Here`s more stuff to fuel your comparison. People have sent fish to space. So, yeah, there are fish in space AND fish in the ocean! Wow! they`re pretty much the same thing! Plus, they both potentially have undiscovered creatures that could kill us in seconds with a movement of an unnamed and random appendage! Hooray fish aliens! Mummichogs were the first species of fish sent to space, accompanying SKylab 3 in 1973 to learn more about... ears? -
According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fl- SHUT UP. SPACE BEES.
Challenger, one of the most famous spaceships ever, had a cargo not many people knew about. A cargo of 3,000 honeybees. Astronaut James Van Hoften was assigned to monitor the bees to see how Zero gravity effect honeybees production of honeycomb. Surprisingly, they stayed the exact same! -
Frogs
For 8 days in the December of 1990, NASA placed six (6) Japanese tree frogs on a Space station to observe and record their behavior under microgravity. It was noted that frogs tend to enter a "Parachuting" position when free floating. They typically sat with their heads bent backwards. Although, the little guys WERE affected by gravity, so, uhh, a little note to self: Never go to space with a frog. -
Bibliography!
https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2016/04/22/slow-down-and-save-frog/0HpIjGCRzoD6ByQWtUF5rI/story.html
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/mummichog
http://www.clker.com/clipart-astroauta.html
http://catsanimals.com/cat-in-space-helmet/
http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/10-animal-space-travellers.html
