WHAT'S THE STRANGEST THING SENT INTO SPACE?

From LEGO to pizza, this list of space oddities proves that almost anything can make its way into the cosmos

-  Lee Cavendish

Space exploration is relentless. There’s a constant stream of satellites, astronauts and spacecraft waiting to be jettisoned beyond the confines of Earth. Since exploration began in the 1960s, some intriguing and amusing items have found their way up there. Whether they had a legitimate reason or were launched just for some good-natured fun, there have been some strange items sent into space. All About Space takes a look back through the years and brings to memory some of the more unusual cosmic visitors – and with the evolution of commercial spaceflight, who knows what weird things will be sent there next!

OTHER CREATURES OF EARTH

Sadly, during the earliest stages of space exploration, many animals were used for the testing of spaceflights, in part to see its effects on living things. In recent times no such animals have been harmed in the development of space exploration, but these wonderful animals helped us get to where we are now.

Different animals have been sent into space in order to understand the impact of microgravity on the body, but there are a few names that stick out. The first that springs to mind is Laika, the Soviet space dog, whisked from the streets of Moscow, Russia, to become the first animal to orbit Earth with the launch of Sputnik 2 in 1957. Unfortunately Laika did not survive the spaceflight.