I've always been fascinated by animal astronauts. I'm pretty sure none of them really wanted to be astronauts. It's hard for me to imagine Laika - the first dog in space - thinking that ever since she was a puppy she wanted to be an astronaut. She may have been happy chasing a stick, or chasing her tail, but they put her in a spaceship and sent her into orbit. How is a dog supposed to understand that?
She died on the way.
I miss you sometimes, Laika. Life was way too complicated for you to understand what was going on. But you always did your best. posted by twoleftfeet at 8:12 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
The animal astronauts are unnerving, because I recognize some of the underlying photos that were used.
1. Mission Control launches a stick into orbit
2. Says "fetch" in a commanding yet friendly tone (in an appropriate language)
3. Presses "launch"
To be fair, dogs don't understand much of what humans do, I suspect. But dying was not what she signed up for. posted by GenjiandProust at 6:06 AM on October 7, 2012
I'm really loving the Bodies in Space, linked in the first comment. Thanks, homunculus! posted by tickingclock at 6:30 PM on October 7, 2012
Wow, that first link is straight out of J. G. Ballard! All it needs is an astronaut in an empty swimming pool. posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:33 PM on October 7, 2012
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posted by homunculus at 7:43 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]