On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched a dog named Laika into space. She rode aboard the Sputnik 2 with only one meal and a seven-day oxygen supply. She made history as the first living ...

On 18 March 1965 Soviet ... suit. Not all seems to have gone well on the re-entry flight, either. But it was a massive first, and one that left the US, as often in the early days of the space ...

Granted, naming the pet after the pioneering yet perished Soviet space dog from 1957 might give even the dimmest AI pause for thought, but the intention is a serious one: an astronaut needs unstinting ...