This tone is really harsh, animals dying to push science forward is still common today and acting like they were "heartless" for it is disingenuous.
Laika got to be remembered, which his already much more than can be said of most test subjects.
Laika was an important stepping stone towards humans in space. It's sad a dog died, but some people are a bit melodramatic.
https://history.nasa.gov/animals.html is a quick summary.
And yet, given the power to make such a decision I'd ban all animal experimentation without question (and I'd include Laika's situation in that).
If it is so vital that an experiment be performed, then a willing human volunteer should be found. If no human is willing to undergo these tortures in the name of science and for the sake of humanity, then the experiment in question is apparently not that vital after all.
In these situations, humans have the choice and humans have the benefit. We should leave other species out of it.
After all, the goal was to have humans go into space and survive the trip back.
That doesn't really change anything.
> Laika got to be remembered, which his already much more than can be said of most test subjects
I doubt that was much comfort to her.
She wouldn't understand what it means to live or die for something.
Still being the first mammal in Earth orbit is wild. Man's best friend indeed!
That was my point, yes.