"She died before reaching orbit, and before any real data was gleaned about sustaining life in that environment," says Dr. Stanley Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia ...

"Do not go out on thin ice," he added. Belka shares her name with one of the notable Soviet space dogs that travelled to orbit in Sputnik 5 spacecraft in 1960.

In 1960, on the USSR’s second orbit attempt, Belka and Strelka became the first creatures to ... would pick up some souvenirs along the way. Parr’s new book Space Dogs commemorates his fascination ...