On this day in space! Oct. 18, 1963: France's Félicette Becomes the 1st Cat in Space! >^..^
On Oct. 18, 1963, a cat went to space! Félicette was a French "catstronaut" who became the first and only feline to fly to space. Here's why it mattered.
On October 18, 1963, a cat named Félicette embarked on a historic journey to space, marking the first time a feline had ventured beyond Earth's atmosphere. As a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris, Félicette was chosen to replace another cat named Felix, who had mysteriously gone missing on launch day. Attaching to the French Véronique AG1 rocket, Félicette soared 130 miles above the Earth, making her a pioneer in the realm of space exploration for animals.
Despite her successful return, Félicette's life was cut short two months following her recovery. In order to study her brain, she was euthanized, as scientists sought to extract valuable insights from the first cat to have journeyed into space. A second cat, launched by the French on October 24, unfortunately faced a less auspicious outcome, veering off course and ultimately perishing after its journey.
In the aftermath of Félicette's mission, the Centre d Enseignement et de Recherches de Médecine Aéronautique (CERMA) redirected its research focus to flying monkeys. However, Félicette's legacy endured when a crowdfunded effort raised a statue in her honor nearly six decades after her pioneering voyage. This bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2019 at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France, where European astronauts Helen Sharman, Paolo Nespoli, and Reinhold Ewald were present for its reveal.
The unveiling honored Félicette's remarkable achievement and immortalized her as a symbol of animal courage in the face of space exploration.
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