It was one small step for man, and one giant leap for canines, when in 1957 the stray dog Laika was launched into space aboard Sputnik 2 — the first animal to make it into orbit.
But Laika wasn't the first animal, and certainly not the last, to be used to test the limits of life outside Earth's atmosphere, just this week, Russia is expected to launch a biosatellite carrying 75 mice and 1,500 fruit flies.
However, nearly 70 years after Laika's flight, ethical and legal concerns persist about how animals are treated in space research.
Dr Anna Marie Brennan is a senior lecturer in law at the University of Waikato, where she specialises in outer space law and she speaks to Mark Leishman.
Russian space dog Laika Photo: bbc.co.uk
