---
title: "5 Animals That Have Been to Space"  
description: "Before humans, animals like Laika, Albert II, and Félicette traveled to space, paving the way for space exploration."  
author: "Khushi Singh"  
published: 2025-02-25  
canonical: https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/4888/5-animals-that-have-been-to-space  
category: "animals"  
tags: ["Animals in space history First animals sent to space Laika the space dog Famous space missions with animals Tardigrades in space"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# 5 Animals That Have Been to Space

![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/c50e6b9f-e0ce-4884-916e-d875dfca328b.jpeg) ![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/b0c62019-f9ff-4b81-a0c1-1d5e1ab9163b.jpeg) Laika, a Siberian stray dog, became the first animal to orbit Earth aboard Sputnik 2. ![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/a4c5b744-2bd5-4df6-b8f9-18307c231916.jpeg) A rhesus monkey, Albert II, became the first primate in space, reaching 134 km altitude in a V-2 rocket. ![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/727020ff-fc80-4719-bd18-ade979f216f6.jpeg) Belka & Strelka (Dogs - 1960) - These two Soviet dogs became the first animals to return safely from an orbital space mission. ![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/26f4dca2-60f5-4ebf-acbf-4a6de73b1a8e.jpeg) Félicette (Cat - 1963) - The only cat to travel to space, Félicette was sent by France and survived her mission successfully. ![5 Animals That Have Been to Space](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/stories/4c9dd51f-ca0f-48bc-8e42-a868efa9eb1a/images/0a645f0e-21c6-4611-a83c-986799c00539.jpeg) Tardigrades (Water Bears - 2007 & 2019) - These tiny, indestructible creatures were sent into space and even survived exposure to the vacuum!

---

Original Source: https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/4888/5-animals-that-have-been-to-space

Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.