There are many brave astronauts that have participated – and even given their lives – in the quest to put human beings into space. But before those astronauts had a chance to take flight, there was a long line of other creatures that paved the way for human spaceflight. The first living beings were fruit flies, which were sent up along with some seeds of corn in 1947 to test the effects of radiation on DNA. The container of flies flew aboard a V2 rocket to a height of 106 miles (171 km), and the capsule was recovered with the flies alive and well.
The first monkey to be sent successfully into space was Albert II, a male rhesus monkey, who made it to a height of 83 miles (134 km) on June 14, 1949. Albert II was carried aboard a V2 rocket as well, though his fate was not…
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History of Sorts 