Back in 1960, two dogs made history by surviving through a space trip. The dogs were later named Strelka, which meant “little arrow” and Belka, that meant “squirrel.” The Science Museum in London has recently announced its program to launch a public display devoted towards the celebration of this historical assignment.
The new exhibition is named as “Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age,” whose intention is to remember and remind that Strelka and Belka were selected by the scientists of Russia for an orbit around the Earth. The two mixed-breed dogs were given company by 42 mice, flies, a gray rabbit, 2 rats and a numerous and varied plants and fungi.
All of these life forms boarded the Soviet Union spacecraft called the Korable-Sputnik 2, or Sputnik 5 on Aug. 19 in 1960. This was only the second venture by the researchers to put an Earth-based creature into its orbit. The first Sputnik 2 mission had a dog, named Laika, that went around the Earth. But, sadly the dog died after a few hours of staying in the space because of pressure and overheating.
During the 1st successful mission, Strelka, Belka and all the remaining creatures revolved around the Earth for 18 times. During this same mission, the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history by becoming the first man to have journeyed into outer space and safely completed the trip.
The Tech Times, that reports news on latest developments in the U.S. technology and industry, detailed that the exhibition in the Britain will have an assembly of the most important Russian-made spacecraft and antiquities. In addition to these, the public display also features an ejection seat and spacesuit specifically designed for these canine cosmonauts.
