Laika The Dog

Laika was the first dog to orbit the earth. She was a stray dog, picked up on the streets to be used for this experiment. Laika was trained along with two other dogs, but in the end they chose Laika for this mission. On November 3rd, 1957, Laika was launched into space, in the Soviet spacecraft called Sputnik 2.
Laika died within the first few hours during the mission, however, she was not intended to live in the first place. Scientists had no way of retrieving Sputnik 2 from space. There are different theories on how exactly she died, but it wasn't until 2002 when scientists confirmed that the cause of her death was due to overheating.
This experiment helped scientists understand how living organisims react to spaceflight environments. It proved that a passenger could be launched into space, and survive weightlessness.
A monument of Laika standing on top of a rocket was built in 2008 in rememberance to the dog.