On Sept. 15, 1968, the Soviet Union launched the Zond 5 spacecraft on an objective to loop around the moon and return to Earth. There were no cosmonauts aboard Zond 5, but there were a number of smaller vertebrates– consisting of the first 2 tortoises to ever go to space! Images: Pioneering Animals in SpaceAstronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., pilot for the Gemini-11 spaceflight, go back to the hatch of the spacecraft following extravehicular activity (EVA) on Sept. 13, 1966. This image was taken control of the Atlantic Ocean at around 160 nautical miles above Earths surface. (Image credit: S.P.Korolev RSC Energia) Other passengers consisted of wine flies, seeds, mealworms and plants. These were the very first animals in deep space and the first to travel around the moon. After looping around the moon, the Zond 5 spacecraft turned around and returned to Earth. It was expected to land in Kazakhstan on Sept. 22, however the spacecrafts guidance system failed, and it crashed in the Indian Ocean instead. The Soviets did recuperate the pill and discovered that the tortoises and other animals were still alive, although they had actually lost some weight since the start of the mission.Catch up on our whole “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive!Still inadequate area? Dont forget to have a look at our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..
