Its sweet to think about laika, the first earthling to reach orbit, as somehow still inhabiting open space, dog toys strewn about, circling in orbit, remaining a testament to the important role that canines have always held in the evolution of the human race. They are the ultimate guides in our ever-expanding dominion- even to earth’s atmosphere, the vacuous space into which we can not go without the triumphs of science and technological achievement; a place so unknown we must still send a dog in first.

Upon starting this project, we felt equally compelled by Laika’s story. Using symbolically appropriate tools to make a vacuum, we set out to illustrate a place that we imagined the dog to be. We built a monument to Laika that creates a peaceful, borderless space that both speaks to the loss of her life and also places her in some eternally orbiting, dedicated site of appreciation. In doing this, however, we could not examine the story without also stumbling on critical factors that lead to her role in this historical event: Mainly, the seemingly arbitrary selection process- after all, she was found on the streets of Moscow and determined to have the qualities suitable for a space mission (!)

“According to a NASA document, Laika was actually placed in the satellite on October 31, 1957, three days prior to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (located North East of the Aral Sea). She was carefully groomed...her coat sponged with a weak alcohol solution and then finely combed. Areas of her body where electrodes would be attached were painted with iodine and powdered with a streptocide.

It was reported that Laika suffered no extreme ill-effects during the ascent and insertion into orbit since the electrodes recorded relatively normal vital signs under the circumstances, although she did seem somewhat agitated and her pulse rate did rise to three times its resting level. While weightless, she was able to take food and water from the onboard dispenser, bark and move around... although her movements were restricted by the harness she was wearing.

In 1999, several Russian sources stated that Laika had died after four days in space when the cabin overheated. However, in October of 2002, during a gathering of the World Space Congress in Houston, Texas, it was revealed by Dr. Dimitri Malashenkov of the Institute for Biological Problems in Moscow, that after five to seven hours following the launch of Sputnik-2, no life signs were being received from Laika. By the fourth orbit, it was apparent that the little dog had passed away from overheating and stress.

A year later, one of the former lead scientists who had worked on the Soviet “animals-in-space” program expressed his deep regrets regarding Laika:

“The more time passes, the more I’m sorry.... We shouldn’t have done it.... We did not learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog.”

With MONUMENT, we hope to call into question what Laika’s place is now. Besides being an important conduit for arguments on animal rights, where is she historically? Is she an icon In terms of heroism and sacrifice? Was her flight into orbit a selfless gesture that exemplifies a timeless partnership between humans and canines? Is it merely pessimistic to consider her fatal journey merely another example of humans using animals as the see fit to further their own ends?

This work isn’t meant to send up a flare of complaint about a deed already done and examined 50 years ago. Its rather a small examination of just exactly how the monuments to Laika ought to be viewed... Its asking us to be genuine about what we do- especially that which asks so much of other animals- particularly of canines, who are brave enough to be sent in first.

How do we speak about heroism when, after looking critically at the factors that enabled this particular dog to be chosen, the justification to sacrifice such a noble creature, we find a roulette wheel of morality within human achievements: Our technical evolution is interesting, but a dog’s dedication is moving.

The monument here is not for the science nor for any voluntary “heroism”, but rather its for the great and simple selflessness of the dog- unwaveringly willing, even when facing the vast unknown, to be first to rush in.

Geoff Tuttle, 2008