Astrocat
On October 18, 1963, the French space program launched Félicette—a stray Persian cat—into space. Electrodes were implanted into the cat’s skull to track neurological activity and to trigger physical responses. Either surprisingly or unsurprisingly (it’s hard to say which), Félicette remains the only cat to have been successfully delivered to space. Scientists euthanized Félicette shortly after the flight to study her brain.
In 2017, a crowdfunding campaign succeeded in building a memorial for Félicette—a bronze statue depicting the cat “perched atop Earth, gazing up toward the skies she once traveled.” The statue is currently located at the International Space University in France.
