- Researchers were aware of space radiation, but they didn't know the actual dose or how it would affect cells and heredity at different altitudes. © NASA/Wikimedia Commons/Public DomainFurry flights© Andrey Vladimirov© SputnikUnlikely heroesRussia is generally more of a cat country; 58% of Russians prefer cats as pets, 42% prefer dogs. The two dogs recovered from the stress and enjoyed human attention.It was decided that humanity would take the next step.The subsequent life of the space dogs was happy. The president jokingly called themin honor of the spaceship Sputnik.Like any exploration of unknown frontiers, space exploration required many sacrifices. When she learned that Belka and Strelka returned to Earth safely, she felt better.She called her new dog Laika.