NO. 113: JUNE 2017 ISSN: 1751-8261 MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE Contents Canine Cosmonauts 1-2 Islamic Astronomy 3-5 Stargazing under a Dictator 5-6 Looking at Earth 7 Visions of the Universe 8-9 From Sweden to Space 10 A History of Dark Matter 11 Interview - Anna Maerker 15 BJHS, Viewpoint, BSHS info. 16 Editorial I This issue is devoted to the history of those who have gone in pursuit of knowl- edge of the furthest reaches of the cosmos. We begin with an article by Amy Nelson on the non-human explorers sent into space (1-2). Missions to space are also the focus of articles by Nina Wormbs, who asks why Swedens aim for the stars (10), and Robert Poole, who takes us on a journey through space historiography (7). Astronomy is the focus of articles by both Glen Cooper (3-5) and Pedro Ruiz- Castell (5-6), though each explores a very Canine Cosmonauts different context! Marek Kukula discusses the role of photography in astronomy, and Amy Nelson tells us about the dogs who led humans into space there are details of how that work contin- ues today (and an exhibition to attend! They were a motley crew. Most of the small, Many people saw the dogs as experimental 8-9). Last, but by no means least, Jaco de mixed-breed dogs enlisted as experimental re- subjects playing a critical role in the produc- Swart provides a fascinating insight into search subjects by scientists at the Institute of tion of knowledge about the environmental the history of the hunt for dark matter (11). Aviation and Space Medicine in Moscow be- conditions of space travel. Others viewed You’ll also notice a link to a survey asking gan their lives as strays. Pointy and flop-eared, them in ways that drew on the historic interac- for your views on Viewpoint (6): please do spotted and solid-colored, with hints of terrier, tions of people and dogs, identifying them as spend 5 minutes to give us your thoughts spaniel, or spitz in their ancestry, they could scouts bravely blazing the trail to outer space, on the magazine! not have understood the role they played as victims sacrificed on the altar of geopolitics, Contributions to the next issue should in our most Promethean project – the quest or as faithful servants of humanity. be sent to [email protected] by 15th to send humans into outer space and return The most famous space dog was also the August. them safely to earth. But their significance was most controversial. When Laika became the Alice White, Editor apparent to the scientific community and the first living creature to orbit the earth on 3 global public that followed each chapter of November, 1957, she instantly became a the unfolding race to conquer outer space. global celebrity. Her photograph appeared in 2 Viewpoint No. 110 seat and held her close. As she nuzzled him he stroked her, murmuring, “I so want you to come back.” A few days Lisichka and her fellow traveller, Chaika, perished when the booster rocket exploded during the launch of their spacecraft. Their failed flight remained secret for years and both dogs were written out of the published record. Disaster defined the career of Zhul’ka (Little Bug) as well, but with less devastating consequences. After surviving two verti- cal launches, Zhulka underwent training as a satellite dog and was sent on what supposed to be an orbital flight in December 1960 with a dog named Shutka. Technical issues kept the craft from entering orbit, and then the auto-destruct mechanism malfunctioned. The capsule with the dogs crash-landed in deep snow Cover image: A postcard of Belka and Strelka. near the Tungus meteor Above: Lisichka & Otvazhnaia. crater in Siberia. When Right: A pin commemorating Laika’s flight. the rescue team arrived Images courtesy of the author. two days later they found the dogs cold and hungry, newspapers, amateur radio operators tracked But a but alive. Oleg Gazenko, the the persistent bleeping of her satellite as it few dogs physician who oversaw the circled the globe, and millions of people hung stand out orbital flight program admired on every update about her condition and the for their abil- the pluck of the little dog with light progress of her flight. When it became clear ity to develop fur and black button eyes. He took she would not survive -- the means to return relationships with her home, where she lived for fourteen a satellite safely to earth had not been devel- their handlers. Often, years. Although she too, was written out of oped yet – observers in the West indicted those relationships proved the official histories, Gazenko regarded her as the Soviets for their callousness, while in the pivotal to a dog’s ultimate fate. a heroine of spaceflight. Eastern Blok, stamps, pins and monuments Several years before Laika’s historic orbital Where the space dogs are concerned, fame commemorated Laika’s feat. flight, for example, Tsygan and Dezik became and affection sometimes worked in contrary Other famous space dogs included Belka the first animals to survive in space when ways. Laika, whose name means “Barker,” was and Strelka who were the first living creatures they successfully weathered a vertical launch chosen for her one-way trip in part because to return safely from orbital flight in August to an altitude of 110 kilometres and experi- the researchers were more fond of the other 1960. Clad in their orange flight suits, they enced four minutes of weightlessness before two finalists. One of them, Al’bina, had appeared at press conferences, visited schools descending safely in their capsule to a landing already flown in two vertical launches and and were featured on magazine covers. Their on the steppe. A few days later, Dezik perished had recently had puppies. The consensus was images adorned stamps and postcards. One in the second test flight, prompting Anatoly that she had served science enough, so the of Strelka’s puppies was given to the Ken- Blagonravov, who headed the commission decision was made to sacrifice the less sym- nedy family as a playmate for Caroline’s dog, a overseeing the biological flight program, to pathetic (non-maternal) Laika. But seventy Welsh Terrier named Charlie. The two canine take the surviving dog home as a pet. Tsygan years after her historic flight, Laika lives on in cosmonauts did not fly again, but lived out accompanied Blagonravov everywhere, global popular culture, while Al’bina has been their days in the kennel at the institute where became the leader of the neighbourhood forgotten. The significance of Laika’s voyage they were trained. Contemporary visitors to dogs, and reportedly jumped on visiting and the circumstances of her death inform Moscow can see their taxidermied remains dignitaries with impunity. an enduring celebrity and complex memory at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics The fate of Lisichka is more poignant. Every- articulated in music, literature, graphic novels underneath the Monument to the Conquerors one who worked with this sweet-natured dog and tribute websites. In the shadows of her of Space. Comparable celebrity followed by adored her. She cooperated with research- fame, a few space dogs enjoyed moments of quiet lives at the institute awaited Chernushka ers and medical personnel, enduring long celebrity, and a few more secured bonds of (Blackie)and Zvezdochka (Little Star), the dogs periods of confinement without complaint, affection with the human forces behind the who tested the Vostok spacecraft that would willingly submitting to painful procedures, biological flight program. But ironically, the make Yuri Gagarin the first man in space in and adapting gracefully to wearing the very characteristics that endeared them to April 1961. elaborate sanitation suit. Even Sergei Korolev, their humans also ensured that their legacies For every famous space dog, there were the Chief Designer, had a tender spot in his would be much more private than that of dozens of others who lived and died beyond heart for Lisichka, whose name means “little Laika. the public gaze. These dogs’ stories are chal- fox.” During a difficult and contentious equip- lenging to reconstruct – a veil of secrecy still ment test before her launch in the Summer of Amy Nelson limits access to key primary materials and con- 1960, the famously gruff Korolev pulled the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University fusion abounds where names are concerned. little ginger-colored dog from her ejection [email protected] Viewpoint No. 113 3 Islamic Astronomy from “Star Wars” to Star Tables Glen M. Cooper explores the cosmos as seen by Islamic scholars through history. Astronomy had a long and fruitful life in the and rulers in Islamic world, where ancient Greek astronomy terms of a grand was transformed into a fully institutionalised cosmological endeavour employing a comprehensive and scheme written predictive theory that was consistent with in the stars, physical principles as then understood. which both Astronomy in the ancient world was justified the motivated by different concerns than what current dynasty drives the science today. Its principal aim was and permitted to divine the future from planetary positions, knowledge of which eventually could be calculated using the political past data and theoretical models. Astrologers future. These have been associated with imperial courts interests in since ancient Mesopotamian times. There, in a political and his- kind of ancient “star wars”, they vied with each torical astrology other for the most accurate predictions. Meso- were inherited potamian stargazers accumulated centuries by the Muslim of observational data, and invented math- Abbasid dynasty ematical methods for predicting astrologically (750-1258 CE).