Laika — the first space dog
Series of digital artworks. Private commission
Artworks design: © Victor Kovalenko, 2021. All rights reserved.
1) “Laika — the first Soviet space dog to orbit the Earth”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
2) “One way space flight”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
3) “Laika and her flight to eternity”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
4) “Fateful flight to the stars”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
Humanity has always been trying to reach out to the stars. In order to pave the way for the future human spaceflights and explorations scientists wanted to prove that a living passenger could survive the conditions of outer space. So they considered using animals for the first flights as a precursor to future human missions.
Laika was a two year old Soviet space dog, the first animal to orbit the Earth on board of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2. Laika died within the first several hours of the flight from overheating. The return of the dog to Earth was not planned. The first Soviet space dog was doomed to die.
In 1957 the information about Laika’s death wasn’t disclosed by the Soviet mass media. Instead the official information was broadcasted that she was alive for a whole week. In reality though, she had already been dead on the first day of the flight. The true cause of her death was not made public until 2002. All this time and in subsequent years, no one raised the issue of the ethical side of Laika's death. The government of the USSR wanted to make the dog a kind of national hero and not a victim of science.
Series of digital artworks. Private commission
Artworks design: © Victor Kovalenko, 2021. All rights reserved.
1) “Laika — the first Soviet space dog to orbit the Earth”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
2) “One way space flight”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
3) “Laika and her flight to eternity”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
4) “Fateful flight to the stars”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
Humanity has always been trying to reach out to the stars. In order to pave the way for the future human spaceflights and explorations scientists wanted to prove that a living passenger could survive the conditions of outer space. So they considered using animals for the first flights as a precursor to future human missions.
Laika was a two year old Soviet space dog, the first animal to orbit the Earth on board of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2. Laika died within the first several hours of the flight from overheating. The return of the dog to Earth was not planned. The first Soviet space dog was doomed to die.
In 1957 the information about Laika’s death wasn’t disclosed by the Soviet mass media. Instead the official information was broadcasted that she was alive for a whole week. In reality though, she had already been dead on the first day of the flight. The true cause of her death was not made public until 2002. All this time and in subsequent years, no one raised the issue of the ethical side of Laika's death. The government of the USSR wanted to make the dog a kind of national hero and not a victim of science.
1) “Laika — the first Soviet space dog to orbit the Earth”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
2) “One way space flight”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
3) “Laika and her flight to eternity”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
4) “Fateful flight to the stars”, 2021. 50 x 70 cm
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