DHRUBAJYOTI CHTTOPADHYAY Laika – the space dog – would always be remembered for her short adventure in space that made it possible for RTICLE humans to take a giant leap in the fi eld A of space science. EATURE F

Laika – the space dog – would always support aeronautical fl ight. Above this be remembered for her short adventure Karman line, there is an abrupt increase in in space that made it possible for humans atmospheric temperature and interaction to take a giant leap in the fi eld of space with solar radiation. science. The key concerns for a living species There is no distinct boundary beyond this Karman line are , , hypocapnia, decompression VEN two months before her death, between the atmosphere and space, only sickness, extreme temperature variations, she used to roam like a vagabond on an imaginary line approximately 68 mile E cellular mutation, destruction from high the streets of Moscow. She didn’t have or 110 Kilometer above from the earth’s energy photons and sub-atomic particles any permanent address as she was a surface, called the Karman line. Scientists and many other problems. street dweller. Nobody even knew about believe that the Earth’s atmosphere meets her parents or when and where she took from here. • Ebullism is the formation of bubbles birth. And no one could have imagined Karman was a Hungarian-American in body fl uids due to the reduction of that in the last two months of her life she engineer-cum-physicist. He was the fi rst . It is considered as would bring a revolution in space science scientist who calculated that around the most severe experience of space. for which the entire human civilization 100 km above the Earth’s surface, the • Embolism may start at an elevation of would be grateful to her. atmosphere becomes so thin that it cannot around 19 km above the Earth’s surface or 29 Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016 FEATURE ARTICLE Cabin For Laika (left)

Sputnik 2 On either side of the compartment there were plates of potassium super- oxide. This chemical while reacting with carbon dioxide and water vapor emitted .

rabbits, bees, ants, frogs, mice, crickets, rats, newts, snails, urchins, moths, brine shrimp, jellyfi sh, guinea pigs, bu erfl ies, scorpions and cockroaches. Animals like dogs, monkeys and chimps were mainly used to test the safety and feasibility of launching a human being into space and bringing it back to the earth safely. Russian space scie- ntists preferred dogs because they felt that dogs could endure long periods of inactivity be er than any other animal. The dogs when atmospheric pressure becomes less these eff ects – the . Astronauts could easily be confi ned in than 47 mm of Hg. This limit is known as still have to contend with weightlessness small boxes for 15-20 days at a time. Soviet the Armstrong Limit. and micro-gravity. For long periods scientists further assumed that a stray of time, exposure to weightlessness dog would be be er as they had already • Rapid de-oxygenation of the blood due has several deleterious eff ects on learned to endure harsh conditions of at lower atmospheric pressure is called human health. Short-term exposure to hunger and cold temperatures. So, strays hypoxia, which causes gradual loss of microgravity causes space adaptation from the Moscow streets were chosen for cognitive functions. It starts at about 3 km syndrome that may cause a self-limiting the fi rst mission to send a living being or 10,000 . nausea, derangement of the vestibular into space. Further, female dogs were • The formation of nitrogen gas bubbles system, etc. But long-term exposure chosen because they did not have to stand which usually interfere with organ could cause loss of bone and muscle and li a leg to urinate. function is known as decompression mass, increase risk of injury, reduce Among dozens of other stray dogs sickness. aerobic capacity, and slow down the which were kept at the space research • Reduction of blood carbon dioxide cardiovascular system. centre in Moscow, Laika had been levels is known as hypocapnia. In the early days of space science, no rounded up a er a variety of tests and Hypocapnia can alter the blood pH and one knew what would be the eff ects of training. These tests included weeks of indirectly contribute to nervous system weightlessness on a living body. So, space confi nement in small cages so that the malfunctions. If the person tries to hold scientists used animals to understand the dogs could be accustomed to the limited breath in space the lungs may rupture impact of microgravity on many biological space available within the capsule. She internally. functions. They have studied these also had to pass other tests like noise, Scientists, therefore, had to develop impacts on animals like wasps, beetles, vibration and G-forces that would be a special type of protective cloth to avoid tortoises, fl ies, worms, fi sh, spiders, experienced during the launch period and Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016 30 FEATURE ARTICLE Though Russian offi cial news reported the results of the experiment from the early hours, no details were announced about Laika, who had become an instant celebrity at that time. The only news they Laika with broadcast about implanted her that she was biometric sensors fi ne. When on November 10, the radio transmitter also stopped, offi cials began to acknowledge that Laika would die.

the fl ight. The same generall assessmentt and to the harness and waste-collection limited freedom to lie down or stand, and system devised for Laika was later used apparatus. Silver electrocardiogram motion sensors reported activity. for cosmonauts who were to be sent into electrodes were implanted in the chest to On the 3 November 1957, Sputnik-2 space. measure the heart rate, and a piezoelectric was launched from the Baikonur The original name of Laika was blood-pressure sleeve was surgically Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan along with Kudryavka, or Li le Curly, but she placed around the carotid artery in the Laika. She became the fi rst cosmonaut became known internationally as Laika. neck so that the biometric readings of our planet Earth. The fl ight of Laika American reporters dubbed her Mu nik could be radioed to Earth. To avoid became headline news in almost all as a pun on Sputnik, the spacecra on any infection these were kept carefully newspapers across the world. From board which she travelled. bandaged and cleaned with alcohol every the capsule of Sputnik-2, reports about During training for the fl ight, Laika day. Respiration rate was measured by her condition were transmi ed back was trained to sit in the cabin and get used strain gauges in a belt around her chest. to Earth, including her blood pressure, to the noises and acceleration of launch The dog was chained in place, with heart rate and breathing. The capsule’s Solar UV and X-ray Sensor KS-5 Cosmic Ray Counter environmental conditions including temperature and internal pressure were also closely monitored from Russia. Sputnik-2 satellite had three units mounted in a conical frame, with a total mass of 508.3 kg. At the top there was an instrument, which was used to measure solar X-ray and far ultraviolet radiation. Below that, there was a cabin to carry the dog. It was 80 cm long and 64 cm in diameter. 31 Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016 FEATURE ARTICLE

Laika in the spaceship

dog’s body. It was found that during the Laika monument fl ight the cabin became steadily warmer. unveiled on the eve of Cosmonauts’ Day Sometime a er nearly fi ve to seven hours the biometric telemetry system failed. 2008 ( Although Laika’s exact fate is unknown, Courtesy: Wikipedia) from ground simulations many space Below: Postal scientists predict that she died from Stamp on Laika overheating soon a er the third or fourth orbit. Though Russian offi cial news reported the results of the experiment from the early hours, no details were announced about Laika, who had become an instant celebrity at that time. The only news they broadcast about her that she was fi ne. When on November 10, the radio transmi er also stopped, offi cials began to acknowledge that Laika would die. A ventilator fan was mounted at the special high-nutrition gel was supplied. top. It was designed in such a way that This gelatinous nutrient was made from In 1969, Romania published a postal it would turn on if the temperature rose water, agar agar, dried-bread powder, stamp to commemorate the event with above 15° C. powdered meat and beef tallow. This was the caption: “Laika, fi rst travelled into Cosmos”. In November 1997, a statue of On either side of the compartment delivered by a cartridge belt arrangement Laika was unveiled at the Institute for there were plates of potassium super- that doled out portions for the dog to Aviation and Space Medicine at Star City, oxide. This chemical while reacting with eat at regular intervals. It was estimated Moscow. carbon dioxide and water vapor emi ed that the dog might survive maximum for oxygen. However, since excess oxygen seven days, according to which provision But the question is: Do human beings is also harmful and may cause oxygen for the quantity of food and oxygen was have the right to make scapegoats of poisoning, a control system was there made. Urine and feces were collected by innocent animals for their own progress? to stop the regeneration of oxygen if the a tight fi ing rubber cup, and sent to a Oleg Gazenko, the scientist and trainer of pressure went above 765 mm of Hg. sanitation reservoir fi lled with activated Laika, expressed through a poem in 1998 during the Space Day Programme: The cabin was equipped with a charcoal and dried moss. television camera, along with sensors Heart-rate telemetry indicated that to measure ambient pressure and Laika’s heart rate increased almost three “The more time passes, the more I’m temperature. To measure the canine’s times than her normal rate probably due sorry.... blood pressure, breath frequency and to the stress during the launching period. We shouldn’t have done it.... heartbeat sensors were fi ed to her body. Five to ten minutes a er the achievement We did not learn enough from the mission The cabin walls were covered with so of orbit, heart-rate telemetry indicated that to justify the death of the dog.” padded material and there were intricate her readings and activity had returned to life support instruments positioned normal. She had become calm. Mr Dhrubajyoti Chttopadhyay is Education Offi cer, everywhere. Moscow scientists were concerned North Bengal Science Centre, P.O.-Matigara, Besides, there was access to both from the very beginning about the heat Siliguri, Dist.-Darjeeling-734010; Email: dckc.sc@ water and food. As food material, a problem, both from the Sun and from the gmail.com Science Reporter, NOVEMBER 2016 32