WEBVTT - How Did Two Tortoises Beat Apollo to the Moon?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here this is the story of

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<v Speaker 1>how a pair of Central Asian reptiles made spacefaring history.

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<v Speaker 1>On nineteen sixty one, US President John F. Kennedy took

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<v Speaker 1>the podium at a joint session of Congress and said,

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<v Speaker 1>I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving

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<v Speaker 1>the goal before this decade is out of landing a

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<v Speaker 1>man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>It was bold rhetoric for its time. The world's first

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<v Speaker 1>human made satellite, Sputnik one, had been launched in the

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<v Speaker 1>fall of nineteen fifty seven, less than four years before

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<v Speaker 1>JFK gave his man on the Moon ultimatum about the

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<v Speaker 1>size of a beach ball. Sputnik one was created by

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet Union. Its elliptical journey around the Earth gave

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<v Speaker 1>birth to the space race, a period in which the

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<v Speaker 1>US and USS are challenged each other for superiority in

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<v Speaker 1>the new front year of space exploration. Kennedy didn't live

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<v Speaker 1>to see his ambitious goal realized. He was assassinated in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty three, but the US National Aeronautics and Space

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<v Speaker 1>Administration or NASA, beat the former president's deadline with a

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<v Speaker 1>few months to spare. During NASA's Apollo eleven mission in

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<v Speaker 1>the summer of nineteen sixty nine, astronauts Neil Armstrong and

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<v Speaker 1>Edwin buzz Aldrin took mankind's first triumphant steps across the

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<v Speaker 1>Moon's cratered surface. Four days later, they along with crewmate

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<v Speaker 1>Michael Collins, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. All three

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<v Speaker 1>men returned home safe and sound. Apollo eight was a

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<v Speaker 1>former feather in NASA's cap and a stepping stone to

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<v Speaker 1>the Moon landing. Launched December twenty one, nineteen sixty eight,

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<v Speaker 1>that mission is remembered and celebrated for sending the first

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<v Speaker 1>humans into orbit around the Moon. Yet their trip wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>entirely without precedent. Two small bodied tortoises had beaten them

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<v Speaker 1>to the punch. After the Spotnik one launched, the Soviets

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<v Speaker 1>built an impressive space race resume. Extraterrestrial human travel is

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<v Speaker 1>something the uss Are originally pioneered. Russian born cosmonaut Yuri

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<v Speaker 1>Gagarin made it to space one month before the first

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<v Speaker 1>American astronaut did. But anyway back to those tortoises. Zon

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<v Speaker 1>five was a Soviet spacecraft built to fairy living organisms

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<v Speaker 1>around the Moon and then back to Earth, and such

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<v Speaker 1>a feat had never been accomplished before. Launched on September

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<v Speaker 1>fourteenth of nineteen sixty eight, it began its epic journey

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<v Speaker 1>while Nassau was still making preparations for Apollo seven and

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<v Speaker 1>Apollo eight was several months away. Hundreds of fruit fly

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<v Speaker 1>eggs made the trip aboard Zen five. The craft's payload

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<v Speaker 1>also included a bacteria culture, a flowering plant, algae strains,

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<v Speaker 1>and the air dried cells of such salad bar staples

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<v Speaker 1>as tomatoes, peas, and carrots. But by far the two

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<v Speaker 1>most complex organisms that boarded Zon five were a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of tortoises in the species test Tuto horsefeldi i, a

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<v Speaker 1>native to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and other parts of Central Asia.

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<v Speaker 1>These shelled creatures are popular in American pet stores. Reptile

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<v Speaker 1>hobbyists often call them Russian tortoises, even though they don't

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<v Speaker 1>naturally occur in Russia. Adults get to be about eight

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<v Speaker 1>ten inches long. That's about the two animals chosen for

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<v Speaker 1>Zon five were around six or seven years old at

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<v Speaker 1>the time. Beginning on September two, The tortoises spent twelve

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<v Speaker 1>days living inside the Zon five spacecraft right up until

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<v Speaker 1>it launched on September. All the while they were purposefully

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<v Speaker 1>deprived of food. Soviet scientists worried that if the reptiles

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<v Speaker 1>were allowed to eat before launchtime, it could taint important

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<v Speaker 1>data that they hoped to collect on the space flight's

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<v Speaker 1>physical side effects. Four days into the mission, the tortoises

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<v Speaker 1>and their travel companions circled the Moon, becoming the first

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<v Speaker 1>living thing things ever to do so. Zon five looped

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<v Speaker 1>around the Moon's far side and took some wonderful photographs.

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<v Speaker 1>Its long journey came to an end September twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>and the vessel splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Both

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<v Speaker 1>tortoises survived the track, although each one lost about ten

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<v Speaker 1>percent of its body weight, they were found to be

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<v Speaker 1>in good health overall. The caretakers also reported that the

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<v Speaker 1>adventure didn't hurt their appetites. The creatures enjoyed some nutritious

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<v Speaker 1>dinners after coming home. But if you ever decide to

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<v Speaker 1>adopt the Russian tortoise as a pet, prepare yourself for

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<v Speaker 1>a long commitment. The species can live for over forty

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<v Speaker 1>years in captivity. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>the Time to Russian space tortoises beat Apollo to the

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<v Speaker 1>Moon on how stuff works dot Com, written by Mark Vancini.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. The four more podcasts from my heart

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