Laika, 60th Anniversary

3rdNovember 2017   
  60th Anniversary of Laika’s journey into space

 
Laika was just a stray dog trying to survive on the streets of Moscow. However, the Soviets had higher plans for her. She was trained (whatever that means) to orbit inside the spacecraft Sputnik II. For her, those last weeks of her life were terrifying and heart-breaking, as she never understood what her mission meant.
 
Once launched into space, Laika died right away due to overheating. Obviously, the proud Soviets never admitted the truth until 2002, when somebody dared to speak out about it. They all knew Laika was never coming home and still decided to go ahead with the mission. Instead, they said that poor Laika died because she ran out of oxygen. It was also said that she was euthanized after a week in space for her not to suffer anymore. They even built this monument to her memory. “After placing Laika in the container and closing the hatch, we kissed her nose and wished her bon voyage,” one of the men later said, “knowing that she would not survive the flight.” Shame on you, soviets.
 
Brits campaigned to stop the mission but nobody heard their prayers. People around the world knew that this was a huge mistake but nothing could be done about it. Laika’s destiny was already a fact for the history books. After five months and 2,570 orbits around the Earth, the satellite that had become Laika’s coffin fell down to the Earth. Laika and the capsule disintegrated as they rushed toward the Earth. Her body never touched the ground. She had already turned into stardust.

Today, 60 years after her death, people like me, people like us, still wonder how her life would be otherwise. We wonder why humans tend to use animals as objects to hide their cowardice. Above all, we still want her to come home, safe and sound, and kiss her goodbye feeling sorry for everything she had to go through. No matter what, we will eventually be together, somewhere, somehow. See you soon, Laika.