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Delve deeper into hot topics featured in NGM's May Geographica and Who Knew? with help from Resources. Click on a link, pick up a periodical, browse through a book, and explore!
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The fallen heroes of the space shuttle Columbia had company on their fateful ride: rats, spiders, bees, fish, and other creatures aboard as subjects of scientific research. Previous high-altitude animal studies have provided insights into the effects of space travel and even data toward a new osteoporosis drug. But the going's been tough since the first "flight" in 1783, when a sheep, a rooster, and a duck rose 1,500 feet (500 meters) over France in a hot-air balloon. A Russian mongrel, Laika, reached orbit in 1957, but suffocated when her oxygen ran out. Thirteen dogs and a handful of monkeys died before scientists got it right. Even basic care has been a challenge. Feeding animals in zero g is tough, "and you can't train rats to use a toilet," says NASA's Paul Callahan. So why bother? Without gravity, muscle and bone deteriorate and hormones malfunction, making animal astronauts ideal subjects for studying aging and illness from anemia to cancer.
—Jennifer Steinberg Holland
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