Laika (; c. 1954 – November 3, 1957) was a Soviet Union space dog. She was one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. She was a mix of either a Siberian Husky or other Nordic breed, and a terrier. NASA refers to Laika as a "part-Samoyed terrier." A dog was sent into space to get information about the behavior of living organisms in a space environment. Information from the flight led to the discovery of solar (from the sun) and cosmic radiation.