# Have Any Dogs Completed Astronaut training and been on the ISS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217 "2016-01-05T13:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/1 "2016-01-05T13:42:34Z")
It would seem that if we are serious about going to Mars, we need to have canines who can adapt to life there. So has anyone subject suitable breeds to astronaut/cosmonaut training? I would think that getting a dog used to zero G would be a challenge…has anyone tried it? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/2 "2016-01-05T14:03:32Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > It would seem that if we are serious about going to Mars, we need to have canines who can adapt to life there. I fail to see the logic of this. Why? Please elaborate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/3 "2016-01-05T15:21:28Z")
And what does adapting to Mars have to do with the ISS, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/4 "2016-01-05T15:23:32Z")
I don’t think taking a dog for a ride on the Vomit Comet is going to be a pleasant experience. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/5 "2016-01-05T15:30:44Z")
I don’t see how having a dog on an extended space mission would necessarily be a good thing… and I like dogs. What’s in it for the dog? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/6 "2016-01-05T15:37:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t think taking a dog for a ride on the Vomit Comet is going to be a pleasant experience. This. Do it just once, and it will forever after be known as the Dogshit Comet. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/7 "2016-01-05T16:11:28Z")
You need a dog to round up the electric sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/8 "2016-01-05T16:27:13Z")
Dogs have a glorious, [if not totally successful,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_space) history in space. > [@](#): > > On 22 July 1951, the Soviet Union launched the R-1 IIIA-1 flight, carrying the dogs Tsygan (Russian: Цыган, “Gypsy”) and Dezik (Russian: Дезик) into space, but not into orbit.[6] These two dogs were the first living higher organisms successfully recovered from a spaceflight.[6] Both space dogs survived the flight, although one would die on a subsequent flight. . . > > On 3 November 1957, the second-ever orbiting spacecraft carried the first animal into orbit, the dog Laika, launched aboard the Soviet Sputnik 2 spacecraft (nicknamed ‘Muttnik’ in the West). Laika died during the flight, as was intended because the technology to return from orbit had not yet been developed. At least 10 other dogs were launched into orbit and numerous others on sub-orbital flights before the historic date of 12 April 1961, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. > > \ > > On 2 July 1959, a launch of a Soviet R2 rocket, which reached 212 kilometers (132 mi), carried two space dogs and Marfusa, the first rabbit to go into space. > > \ > > On 19 August 1960 Russia launched Sputnik 5 (also known as Korabl-Sputnik 2) which carried the dogs Belka and Strelka, along with a gray rabbit, 40 mice, 2 rats, and 15 flasks of fruit flies and plants.[8] It was the first spacecraft to carry animals into orbit and return them alive. > > \ > > During the Voskhod program, two Russian space dogs, Veterok (Ветерок, Little Wind) and Ugolyok (Уголёк, Blackie), were launched on 22 February 1966, on board Cosmos 110 and spent 22 days in orbit before landing on 16 March. This spaceflight of record-breaking duration was not surpassed by humans until Soyuz 11 in 1971 and still stands as the longest space flight by dogs. . . **In total in the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at least 57 dogs. The actual number of dogs in space is smaller, because some dogs flew more than once.** (emphasis added) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/9 "2016-01-05T16:34:39Z")
How would a dog get around in zero g anyway? Don’t you need hands to pull yourself around? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/10 "2016-01-05T16:48:28Z")
You’d just end up with the dog barking at the hatch when the resupply mission comes. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/11 "2016-01-05T16:57:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t think taking a dog for a ride on the Vomit Comet is going to be a pleasant experience. Are you kidding? That would be a buffet for a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/12 "2016-01-05T17:21:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > How would a dog get around in zero g anyway? Don’t you need hands to pull yourself around? You don’t need hands to get around, you need hands to stay put. You can push off of things to get from point A to point B, but if you want to hang around point B, you need to be able to grab something there. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/13 "2016-01-05T17:25:46Z")
Housetraining would be interesting. You can’t just install a doggy door. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/14 "2016-01-05T17:28:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Housetraining would be interesting. You can’t just install a doggy door. What about walking them? “Jane!!! Stop this crazy thing!” ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/15 "2016-01-05T18:17:57Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > I would think that getting a dog used to zero G would be a challenge…has anyone tried it? We’ve already sent several Rovers to Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/16 "2016-01-05T18:43:39Z")
Factual answer: no space program has or plans to train dogs as service animals for use on the ISS or for a hypothetical crewed interplanetary mission, nor would it be sensible to do so. The Soviet Union used dogs as test subjects as a precursor to human spaceflight because they are cheap (Laika, the first mammal in orbit, was a mongrel found on the streets of Moscow), easily trained and conditioned, and had a large body of prior experimental work with vivisectioning and physiological response which supported their use in space experiments. The United States preferred using spider and rhesus monkeys, and eventually chimpanzees because the primates were more representative of human physiological response and could be trained to use controls, but the animals often posed behavioral difficulties and were not as hardy. Dogs, or any other quadruped, would make a poor service animal either in freefall conditions or on crewed interplanetary missions. They lack grasping appendages to help them move around, are not able to use human toilet facilities, and designing a functional pressure suit would be an enormous challenge not withstanding the fact that it would not enable them to use their most useful senses effectively (olfactory and auditory). Primates may seem better suited but anyone who has worked with or owned primates as pets can attest to the difficulty of getting them to do what you want of them at all times; a howling, shit-throwing, button-pushing monkey is unlikely to be a useful or desired companion on board a spacecraft or space station, and they will suffer the same (or similar) physiological problems that human astronauts experience with loss of bone density, macular degeneration, and muscle mass. In fact, the most adaptable creatures are probably those already well adapted to a quasi-freefall environment, e.g. those that live in the ocean. From that standpoint, the cephalopods are probably one of the most logical choices as a service animal in a space environment with their acclimation and grasping mobility, albeit with the attendant difficulties of training and controlling such a creature as well as providing the necessary aquatic conditions in both a pressurized habitat or in a pressure/environment garment. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/17 "2016-01-05T18:58:02Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Dogs, or any other quadruped, would make a poor service animal either in freefall conditions or on crewed interplanetary missions. They lack grasping appendages to help them move around, are not able to use human toilet facilities, and designing a functional pressure suit would be an enormous challenge not withstanding the fact that it would not enable them to use their most useful senses effectively (olfactory and auditory). Primates may seem better suited but anyone who has worked with or owned primates as pets can attest to the difficulty of getting them to do what you want of them at all times; a howling, shit-throwing, button-pushing monkey is unlikely to be a useful or desired companion on board a spacecraft or space station, and they will suffer the same (or similar) physiological problems that human astronauts experience with loss of bone density, macular degeneration, and muscle mass. > > Stranger Checking [weighlessness on a cat](http://i.imgur.com/uz3wiUK.png). How the hell did it not scratch the pilots eyes out just by being stuck in a cockpit of a plane, with all the attendant noise. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/18 "2016-01-05T18:58:32Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > From that standpoint, the cephalopods are probably one of the most logical choices as a service animal in a space environment with their acclimation and grasping mobility, albeit with the attendant difficulties of training and controlling such a creature as well as providing the necessary aquatic conditions in both a pressurized habitat or in a pressure/environment garment. Now I’m imagining an octopus on the ISS wearing some kind of helmet that allows it to breathe water. And I’m going to be disappointed if NASA doesn’t do it in my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/19 "2016-01-05T19:00:44Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Primates may seem better suited but anyone who has worked with or owned primates as pets can attest to the difficulty of getting them to do what you want of them at all times; a howling, shit-throwing, button-pushing monkey is unlikely to be a useful or desired companion on board a spacecraft or space station, and they will suffer the same (or similar) physiological problems that human astronauts experience with loss of bone density, macular degeneration, and muscle mass. Sure, but someone has to make sure the humans don’t start pushing the buttons. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217/20 "2016-01-05T19:04:51Z")
What’s the point of going somewhere if you can’t take your dog? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-any-dogs-completed-astronaut-training-and-been-on-the-iss/742217.md?page=2)