what was the first animal launched into space?

The first animals launched into space were fruit flies , sent aboard a U.S. V-2 rocket on 20 February 1947 to study the effects of cosmic radiation at high altitude.

Quick Scoop

• The very first living creatures in space were fruit flies riding on a captured German V-2 rocket modified by the United States after World War II.

• Their mission reached over 100 km above Earth, crossing the commonly accepted boundary of space (the Kármán line). Scientists recovered them alive and examined them for radiation effects.

• Later famous “firsts” include Laika the dog, the first animal to orbit Earth in 1957 aboard Sputnik 2, and Albert II, a rhesus monkey, the first mammal in space in 1949.

So while many people think of Laika or monkeys as the pioneers, the quiet honor of “first animal launched into space” actually belongs to a tiny group of fruit flies.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.