US Markets Loading... h m s

HOMEPAGE

Tech

I traveled to Russia and met the first dogs to ever survive space in this rare museum

Dave Mosher

2015-08-20T12:09:00Z

oleg gazenko belka strelka institute biomedical problems moscow — Oleg Gazenko holds up Belka (right) and Strelka (left), the first two dogs to survive an orbit around Earth. Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems

Laika the dog gets all the credit for paving humanity's path to the stars. But the harsh reality is that she didn't survive before returning to Earth in 1957.

Advertisement

The distinction of "first dogs to orbit the Earth and survive" belongs to Belka and Strelka.

Although Belka and Strelka made history 55 years ago, you can still meet these Russian heroes. Or, rather, the taxidermied effigies of the pups that once were.

I recently traveled to Russia and made it my personal mission to visit Moscow's Cosmonautics Memorial Museum. I wasn't disappointed.

Scroll down to see the Soviet space race's furry heroes, who are still on display in a place most Americans don't even know exists.

Advertisement

The Cosmonautics Memorial Museum is located in northern Moscow.

Cosmonaut Memorial Space Museum

Most Americans don't know it exists, but in Moscow you can see its rocket-like monument rising up miles away.

cosmonaut memorial space museum moscow rocket labeled

Advertisement

A ticket costs 200 rubles, plus 200 rubles if you want to take photos — about $7 total when I visited.

russian rubles coins flickr alexandr samoyluk cc by nc 2 — Russian ruble coins. Alexandr Samoyluk/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Belka, Strelka, and their space capsule rest near the museum entrance. My wife wasn't happy to see dead dogs (even if they were famous).

belka strelka dogs moscow museum capsule

Advertisement

Soviet scientists picked the mutts off the streets of Moscow. They figured strays would endure the harshness of space better than coddled thoroughbreds.

strelka space dog side moscow museum

Belka, a female, was the lighter-colored of the two dogs.

belka space dog moscow museum closeup

Advertisement

Strelka, also female, was white with patches of chocolate-colored fur.

strelka space dog moscow museum face

Advertisement

Both dogs were rigorously trained to endure extreme acceleration, confined spaces, and other challenges of space travel.

Advertisement

On August 19, 1960, they launched into space aboard Korabl-Sputnik 2. The dogs orbited the Earth more than a dozen times before landing the next day.

Soviets celebrated their return as four-legged heroes: They showed it was possible to survive in orbit. (Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth the next year.)

oleg gazenko belka strelka institute biomedical problems moscow — Oleg Gazenko holds up Belka (right) and Strelka (left), the first two dogs to survive an orbit around Earth. Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems

Advertisement

Before Strelka passed away, she gave birth to a puppy named Pushinka.

pushinka dog documentation

Nikita Khrushchev (the Soviet premier) gave Pushinka to President John F. Kennedy's family, and she lived in the White House.

pushinka dog white house jfk library

Advertisement

The family called her "Fluff."

pushinka dog fluff jfk library

In 1963, Pushinka had four puppies: Butterfly, White Tips, Blackie, and Streaker.

pushinka dog white house puppy litter basket jfk library

Advertisement

Pushinka and her puppies were popular figures at the White House, especially with the resident electrician. The puppies' descendants still live on.

pushinka dog puppies white house

Even today, Belka and Strelka are still heroes. Thousands upon thousands of Russians come to see them every year.

belka space dog moscow museum visitor

Advertisement

The Cosmonautics Memorial Museum contained a trove of other bizarre treasures from the space age — but those are another story.

cosmonaut memorial space museum spacesuit

Space Dogs

Advertisement

Jump to

Main content
Search
Account