Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here this is the story of how a pair of Central Asian reptiles made spacefaring history. On nineteen sixty one, US President John F. Kennedy took the podium at a joint session of Congress and said, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.
It was bold rhetoric for its time. The world's first human made satellite, Sputnik one, had been launched in the fall of nineteen fifty seven, less than four years before JFK gave his man on the Moon ultimatum about the size of a beach ball. Sputnik one was created by the Soviet Union. Its elliptical journey around the Earth gave birth to the space race, a period in which the US and USS are challenged each other for superiority in the new front year of space exploration. Kennedy didn't live
to see his ambitious goal realized. He was assassinated in nineteen sixty three, but the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, beat the former president's deadline with a few months to spare. During NASA's Apollo eleven mission in the summer of nineteen sixty nine, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin buzz Aldrin took mankind's first triumphant steps across the Moon's cratered surface. Four days later, they along with crewmate
Michael Collins, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. All three men returned home safe and sound. Apollo eight was a former feather in NASA's cap and a stepping stone to the Moon landing. Launched December twenty one, nineteen sixty eight, that mission is remembered and celebrated for sending the first humans into orbit around the Moon. Yet their trip wasn't entirely without precedent. Two small bodied tortoises had beaten them to the punch. After the Spotnik one launched, the Soviets
built an impressive space race resume. Extraterrestrial human travel is something the uss Are originally pioneered. Russian born cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made it to space one month before the first American astronaut did. But anyway back to those tortoises. Zon five was a Soviet spacecraft built to fairy living organisms around the Moon and then back to Earth, and such
a feat had never been accomplished before. Launched on September fourteenth of nineteen sixty eight, it began its epic journey while Nassau was still making preparations for Apollo seven and Apollo eight was several months away. Hundreds of fruit fly eggs made the trip aboard Zen five. The craft's payload also included a bacteria culture, a flowering plant, algae strains, and the air dried cells of such salad bar staples
as tomatoes, peas, and carrots. But by far the two most complex organisms that boarded Zon five were a couple of tortoises in the species test Tuto horsefeldi i, a native to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and other parts of Central Asia. These shelled creatures are popular in American pet stores. Reptile hobbyists often call them Russian tortoises, even though they don't naturally occur in Russia. Adults get to be about eight
ten inches long. That's about the two animals chosen for Zon five were around six or seven years old at the time. Beginning on September two, The tortoises spent twelve days living inside the Zon five spacecraft right up until it launched on September. All the while they were purposefully deprived of food. Soviet scientists worried that if the reptiles were allowed to eat before launchtime, it could taint important data that they hoped to collect on the space flight's
physical side effects. Four days into the mission, the tortoises and their travel companions circled the Moon, becoming the first living thing things ever to do so. Zon five looped around the Moon's far side and took some wonderful photographs. Its long journey came to an end September twenty one, and the vessel splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Both tortoises survived the track, although each one lost about ten percent of its body weight, they were found to be
in good health overall. The caretakers also reported that the adventure didn't hurt their appetites. The creatures enjoyed some nutritious dinners after coming home. But if you ever decide to adopt the Russian tortoise as a pet, prepare yourself for a long commitment. The species can live for over forty years in captivity. Today's episode is based on the article the Time to Russian space tortoises beat Apollo to the Moon on how stuff works dot Com, written by Mark Vancini.
Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang. The four more podcasts from my heart Radio visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H