Space dogs and some chocolate.

I've realized that most of my friends know about the tragic space dog hero Laika, but very few know the story about Belka and Strelka .

Unlike poor Laika, who was the first dog to travel into space but actually died only few hours after the launch cause of the stress , Belka & Strelka are the first living creatures who went into the orbit and returned to Earth safely.

Belka&Strelka

The recovery capsule for Korabl-Sputnik 2

Belka (Russian for “Squirrel”) and Strelka (Russian for“Arrow”) were launched into the orbit on August 19, 1960. Strelka and Belka spent a day in space in their spacecraft Korabl - Sputnik 2 along with the mighty crew of one grey rabbit, 42 mice, 2 rats, flies and a number of plants and fungi, before returning to Earth.

Now spacecrafts from the 60's are truly inspirational. So retro and futuristic at the same time.

Rik Allen is an artist who makes spacecrafts out of blown glass and recycled metals. I was instantly enchanted with his work and I really can't decide which of these cuties is my favorite.

Photo © Rik Allen

Photo © Rik Allen

Photo © Rik Allen

While on the space topic, I need to mention mouth watering planet and meteorites chocolates ( YES, chocolates! ) made by Japanese chocolatiers L'Eclat.