Hiking in Moscow City can be fun and entertaining. What monuments to see in Moscow, there are many of them, therefore, we present in this article the monument of Laika. Visiting interesting monuments in Moscow is ideal for you.
Laika’s story is well known around the world; but we will remember it anyway: in the year 1957; the dog Laika became the first terrestrial living being to orbit the Earth. He did it aboard the Soviet ship Sputnik 2, on November 3, 1957. Laika survived only a few hours aboard the ship and would not return alive.
In homage to her, in 2008 a monument was inaugurated in her honor. The statue is near the military research center in Moscow and is a reproduction of Laika standing on a rocket. The monument was inaugurated on the eve of the “Astronaut Day” that is celebrated on April 12 and commemorates the space flight made by the Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarín, on April 12, 1961. Many tourists approach the statue, built in bronze, to pay tribute to the dog.
The Russian dog became a hero for the entire world and her name has been used countless times for advertising campaigns, novels, songs and even a region of the planet Mars was named Laika.
The feat of the little street dog, who had been trained for the crossing; paved the way for manned space missions. His was the first of several attempts in which dogs were also used, in some cases successfully.
In addition to the statue in Moscow, Laika has been honored on countless opportunities around the world. There are songs (the sad “Laika”, by Mecano, “Laika leaves” of the Argentine group Massacre to name a few) and postage stamps were created with his photograph.
For its historical importance, for its contribution to the development of aerospace knowledge; and because of the tenderness that its history implies; The visit to the monument to Laika during your trip to Russia is a must.
History
On November 3, 1957, the USSR was the first in the world to orbit the Sputnik-2 spacecraft with a living creature on board: a dog. The white mestizo named Laika did not return and died a few hours after starting to overheat. The monument, 2 meters high, is a space rocket that turns into a palm on which Laika stands proudly. The monument was placed in the territory of the Institute of Military Medicine, where a space experiment was being prepared.
“According to the decision of the leaders of Moscow in honor of the golden anniversary, the 50th anniversary of the second artificial satellite of the Earth with the dog Laika on board, we solemnly open his monument,” said the head of the institute, the greatest general of the medical service Igor Ushakov at the opening ceremony. According to him, the feat of this dog in the development of astronautics is undeniable. “The inhabited space exploration began precisely with Laika,” he said. The monument was created according to the memories of people who knew him, Ushakov said.
“Laika was small, and the monument is represented on a one-to-one scale,” said the head of the Institute of Military Medicine.
After the grand opening of the monument, the institute’s veterans, who participated directly in the experiment to send Laika into space, handed her flowers. “I think the monument was a success. I look at it and I really recognize Laika. She looks at the house where the preparation and training for the flight took place,” said Ada Kotovskaya, a veteran of the institute who participated in the experiment. Ushakov added that a plaque commemorating the image of Laika has been hanging on the territory of the institute for 10 years.
Monument concept: Laika’s life-size sculpture was installed at the base, which is a model of the middle part of the VOSTOK rocket (scale 1: 3.5), cut to appear in the form of a hand that takes the dog into space. 4 elements of the first stage of the rocket represent the arm muscles. It was a construction of the first stage that determined the priority of Soviet cosmonautics. The spherical depression of the “palm” is a reminder of the spherical shape of the first spacecraft. A hand rocket is a symbol of the unity of perfect space technology and the human participation of doctors, who have provided the possibility of living in outer space.
The inclined location of the “rocket” and the complex baseline symbolize the intense overcoming of gravity.
After the launch of the first artificial satellite on Earth, Nikita Khrushchev demanded that Korolev do something to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution. Then, the designer suggested launching a satellite with a dog. Here, at the Institute of Military Medicine, Laika was prepared to fly into space. The second Soviet artificial satellite was launched on November 3, 1957. It was a cone-shaped capsule 4 meters high, with a base diameter of 2 meters. Laika was located in a separate sealed compartment. In his cabin there were all the conditions for existence: a feeding device, a thermoregulation system and air regeneration, sensors to record the pulse, respiration, blood pressure and biopotentials of the heart, a television system to monitor the dog behavior
The operation of the equipment and the food supply were designed for 7 days, but Laika died of overheating a few hours after the launch of the satellite. But only in this way could scientists understand how weightlessness and overload will affect the human body. At the same time, Soviet officials claimed for several decades that Laika lived her due period and was killed for poisoned food. And on the radio they even broadcast a record of Laika’s heartbeat “live.” In total, during the 15 years of history of the “space for dogs”, 50 dogs have been in zero gravity. 18 of them died. Therefore, the monument to Laika is also called a monument to all the animals that died during the test. The two-meter monument is a rocket that passes into the palm of your hand. Laika stands proudly. Sergey Pakhomov’s canine cosmonaut monument and sculptor Pavel Medvedev opened on April 11, 2008
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