The dog Laika, the first living creature to orbit the Earth who paved the way for humans in space was a stray dog found in the streets of Moscow.

Stray dogs were chosen for the experiment because the scientists believed they would be able to tolerate the extremities of space flight better than other dogs. Female dogs were used because of their temperament and the fact that they did not need to lift their leg to urinate.

The space dogs, whose weight did not exceed 6 kg and height 35 cm were prepared for space mission and adapted to the conditions in the pressurized space cabins by the Soviet Institute of Aviation Medicine. They were kept in gradually smaller cages for up to 15-20 days and were trained to eat a special high-nutrition gel that would be their food in space.

Sputnik 2 carrying Laika on board was launched on November 3, 1957. The Soviet officials announced that the dog was euthanized by poisoned food, however decades later it has been revealed she died from overheating and panic just a few hours after the mission started.

Laika's cabin circled the Earth 2,570 times and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere on 4 April 1958.

Laika's space journey made her one of the most famous dogs in the world. She has been pictured on several postage stamps in different countries across the world, and mentioned in the novels and songs.