On September 19, 1783, people gathered around Versailles. They eagerly awaited the exciting demonstration: the first hot air balloon flight with animals inside. They filled the balloon with hot air while the mesmerized people waited patiently. Flight was a foreign concept to them and people were skeptical if land animals could survive the flight. After they fastened basket on the bottom, they put a rooster, duck, and sheep into it. The flight began and astronomers reported it got up to 1600 feet off the ground. The balloon landed about two and a half miles from the launch pad and the animals scurried away, unharmed by the flight (Marko 11-14). Animals led the initiative to test the hot air balloon before people dared to fly up into the sky.
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They rode balloons and rockets to test long-term radiation exposure and other tests. One test, known as NIH.R4, looked at hypertension, or high blood pressure. This test discovered that blood vessels do not contract well in space. It also helped us see the role of calcium in Hypertension because more calcium comes off the bones while in space (Feldman).
The Soviet Union was the United States’ direct competitor throughout the space race. NASA claims that the Soviets were “Basing their experiments on American biomedical research” (Gray). The Soviets had more early success than America, recovering many of the first group of dogs alive. The chosen dogs were all white, female mutts. Unlike the Americans, their early flights had unpressurized cabins where the dogs had to wear space suits.
The most notable early flight was Laika, the first dog to orbit Earth. During takeoff, she had “no ill effects. Inflight cameras showed that Laika moved, barked, and ate food from the dispenser” (Marko 18). She stayed in orbit for a whole week. However, the Soviet scientists were rushed and did not have time to plan a reentry and recovery strategy. (Gray) Laika died in space but gave us a lot of information about survival in
They rode balloons and rockets to test long-term radiation exposure and other tests. One test, known as NIH.R4, looked at hypertension, or high blood pressure. This test discovered that blood vessels do not contract well in space. It also helped us see the role of calcium in Hypertension because more calcium comes off the bones while in space (Feldman).
The Soviet Union was the United States’ direct competitor throughout the space race. NASA claims that the Soviets were “Basing their experiments on American biomedical research” (Gray). The Soviets had more early success than America, recovering many of the first group of dogs alive. The chosen dogs were all white, female mutts. Unlike the Americans, their early flights had unpressurized cabins where the dogs had to wear space suits.
The most notable early flight was Laika, the first dog to orbit Earth. During takeoff, she had “no ill effects. Inflight cameras showed that Laika moved, barked, and ate food from the dispenser” (Marko 18). She stayed in orbit for a whole week. However, the Soviet scientists were rushed and did not have time to plan a reentry and recovery strategy. (Gray) Laika died in space but gave us a lot of information about survival in