Animal Astronauts
2021-01-14
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1The first human moon landing happened more than 50 years ago.
2But did you know that human astronauts were not the first Earthlings to travel in space and circle the moon?
3That honor goes to two Russian tortoises and several smaller creatures that went along for the ride.
4On September 14, 1968, the Soviet space program sent two tortoises -- along with some flies and worms -- into space for a trip around the moon.
5NASA calls it "the first successful circumlunar mission carried out by any nation."
6After a week-long trip, the tortoises landed on Earth by parachute in the Indian Ocean.
7They traveled back to Moscow on October 7.
8Both tortoises survived the trip but not the experiment.
9NASA records state that the animals were dissected on October 11, 1968, to see how their bodies were affected by the space travel.
10Dissection showed that "the main structural changes in the tortoises were caused by a lack of food and not the space travel."
11The tortoises had lost about 10 percent of their body weight.
12But they had stayed active and showed no loss of appetite.
13When compared with a control group of tortoises on Earth, the space traveling creatures had a small amount of spaceflight-related atrophy.
14When parts of the body atrophy, they decrease in size or waste away.
15The experiment demonstrated that the animals could travel around the moon and survive.
16But this did not mean that humans could do the same.
17That possibility required more testing.
18While tortoises were the first to travel around the moon, other animals have helped humans understand and explore space.
19On its website, NASA explains its history with animals in space.
20In 1948, the U.S. began launching rhesus monkeys into space aboard a spacecraft called the V-2 Blossom.
21The monkey Albert I went up on June 11.
22On June 14, 1949, aboard another V-2 flight, Albert II reached a height of about 133 kilometers.
23Albert II died on impact at re-entry.
24The last V-2 flight was on December 12, 1949.
25It involved the monkey Albert IV.
26On its website, NASA calls it "a successful flight, with no ill effects on the monkey until impact, when it died."
27While the United States was experimenting with a lot of monkeys, the Soviet Union was experimenting with a lot of dogs.
28On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into Earth's orbit with a dog named Laika on board.
29NASA scientists say that Laika died after a few hours.
30Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months and then burned up in the outer atmosphere in April 1958.
31Then later that year on December 13, the U.S. launched a squirrel monkey named Gordo about 965 kilometers high in a Jupiter rocket.
32Scientists were able to observe his body functions.
33Gordo's capsule was never found in the Atlantic Ocean.
34He died on splashdown when a flotation device failed.
35However, scientists said readings taken of his breathing and heartbeat proved that humans could survive a similar trip.
36These are just a few examples of how animals have helped humans explore space.
37We should not forget that mice and cats have also been used to help scientists better understand how travel beyond Earth affects living things.
38I'm Anna Matteo.
1The first human moon landing happened more than 50 years ago. But did you know that human astronauts were not the first Earthlings to travel in space and circle the moon? 2That honor goes to two Russian tortoises and several smaller creatures that went along for the ride. 3Tortoises in space 4On September 14, 1968, the Soviet space program sent two tortoises -- along with some flies and worms -- into space for a trip around the moon. NASA calls it "the first successful circumlunar mission carried out by any nation." 5After a week-long trip, the tortoises landed on Earth by parachute in the Indian Ocean. They traveled back to Moscow on October 7. 6Both tortoises survived the trip but not the experiment. NASA records state that the animals were dissected on October 11, 1968, to see how their bodies were affected by the space travel. 7Dissection showed that "the main structural changes in the tortoises were caused by a lack of food and not the space travel." The tortoises had lost about 10 percent of their body weight. But they had stayed active and showed no loss of appetite. 8When compared with a control group of tortoises on Earth, the space traveling creatures had a small amount of spaceflight-related atrophy. When parts of the body atrophy, they decrease in size or waste away. 9The experiment demonstrated that the animals could travel around the moon and survive. But this did not mean that humans could do the same. That possibility required more testing. 10Other animal space travelers 11While tortoises were the first to travel around the moon, other animals have helped humans understand and explore space. On its website, NASA explains its history with animals in space. 12In 1948, the U.S. began launching rhesus monkeys into space aboard a spacecraft called the V-2 Blossom. The monkey Albert I went up on June 11. On June 14, 1949, aboard another V-2 flight, Albert II reached a height of about 133 kilometers. Albert II died on impact at re-entry. 13The last V-2 flight was on December 12, 1949. It involved the monkey Albert IV. On its website, NASA calls it "a successful flight, with no ill effects on the monkey until impact, when it died." 14Dogs in space 15While the United States was experimenting with a lot of monkeys, the Soviet Union was experimenting with a lot of dogs. 16On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into Earth's orbit with a dog named Laika on board. NASA scientists say that Laika died after a few hours. Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months and then burned up in the outer atmosphere in April 1958. 17Then later that year on December 13, the U.S. launched a squirrel monkey named Gordo about 965 kilometers high in a Jupiter rocket. Scientists were able to observe his body functions. 18Gordo's capsule was never found in the Atlantic Ocean. He died on splashdown when a flotation device failed. However, scientists said readings taken of his breathing and heartbeat proved that humans could survive a similar trip. 19These are just a few examples of how animals have helped humans explore space. We should not forget that mice and cats have also been used to help scientists better understand how travel beyond Earth affects living things. 20I'm Anna Matteo. 21Anna Matteo wrote this story VOA Learning English based on NASA reports and other news articles including "These Are 7 of The Strangest Experiments Humans Have Ever Done in Space" by Michelle Starr in ScienceAlert.com. 22_______________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24circumlunar - adj. revolving about or surrounding the moon 25dissect - v. to cut (a plant or dead animal) into separate parts in order to study it 26appetite - n. a natural desire especially for food 27atrophy - v. decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue 28impact - n. the act or force of one thing hitting another 29ill - adj. not well or healthy : sick or unhealthy 30capsule - n. a small part of a spacecraft that is separate from the rest of the spacecraft and that is where people live and work 31flotation - n. the act, process, or state of floating or of causing or allowing something to float