24 hours. Later, Strelka had six puppies, one of which was given to Jacqueline Kennedy as a gift.

Likewise, Yuri Gagarin's status as first man in space is renowned, but shamefully few celebrate the brave Valentina Tereshkova, who on June 16, 1963 lifted off in Vostok 6 to orbit the Earth three days, becoming the first woman in space in the process.

Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in outer space

During her spaceflight, she performed experiments testing the effects of weightlessness on the female body, and took photographs that helped scientists identify an aerosol layer in Earth's atmosphere. In a 2007 Pravda interview, she expressed a desire to return to space, saying that if she had she would "enjoy flying to Mars."

"This was the dream of the first cosmonauts.I wish I could realize it. I am ready to fly without coming back."​

Soviet Air Force pilot Alexei Leonov was also the first person to walk in space. His mission was fraught with danger and drama — his pressurized suit became inflated during his 10 minute float in the vacuum of space, making reentering the Voskhod 2 capsule impossible. He was forced to bleed off some of the oxygen in his suit in order to squeeze back through the airlock, a process that caused him to contract the bends.

​Still, despite the trauma of the episode, Leonov found the experience of floating in space extremely affecting, saying he felt like "a seagull with its wings outstretched, soaring high above the Earth." Leonov paints scenes of the Earth as he