Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here this is the story of
Speaker 1: how a pair of Central Asian reptiles made spacefaring history.
Speaker 1: On nineteen sixty one, US President John F. Kennedy took
Speaker 1: the podium at a joint session of Congress and said,
Speaker 1: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving
Speaker 1: the goal before this decade is out of landing a
Speaker 1: man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.
Speaker 1: It was bold rhetoric for its time. The world's first
Speaker 1: human made satellite, Sputnik one, had been launched in the
Speaker 1: fall of nineteen fifty seven, less than four years before
Speaker 1: JFK gave his man on the Moon ultimatum about the
Speaker 1: size of a beach ball. Sputnik one was created by
Speaker 1: the Soviet Union. Its elliptical journey around the Earth gave
Speaker 1: birth to the space race, a period in which the
Speaker 1: US and USS are challenged each other for superiority in
Speaker 1: the new front year of space exploration. Kennedy didn't live
Speaker 1: to see his ambitious goal realized. He was assassinated in
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, but the US National Aeronautics and Space
Speaker 1: Administration or NASA, beat the former president's deadline with a
Speaker 1: few months to spare. During NASA's Apollo eleven mission in
Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen sixty nine, astronauts Neil Armstrong and
Speaker 1: Edwin buzz Aldrin took mankind's first triumphant steps across the
Speaker 1: Moon's cratered surface. Four days later, they along with crewmate
Speaker 1: Michael Collins, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. All three
Speaker 1: men returned home safe and sound. Apollo eight was a
Speaker 1: former feather in NASA's cap and a stepping stone to
Speaker 1: the Moon landing. Launched December twenty one, nineteen sixty eight,
Speaker 1: that mission is remembered and celebrated for sending the first
Speaker 1: humans into orbit around the Moon. Yet their trip wasn't
Speaker 1: entirely without precedent. Two small bodied tortoises had beaten them
Speaker 1: to the punch. After the Spotnik one launched, the Soviets
Speaker 1: built an impressive space race resume. Extraterrestrial human travel is
Speaker 1: something the uss Are originally pioneered. Russian born cosmonaut Yuri
Speaker 1: Gagarin made it to space one month before the first
Speaker 1: American astronaut did. But anyway back to those tortoises. Zon
Speaker 1: five was a Soviet spacecraft built to fairy living organisms
Speaker 1: around the Moon and then back to Earth, and such
Speaker 1: a feat had never been accomplished before. Launched on September
Speaker 1: fourteenth of nineteen sixty eight, it began its epic journey
Speaker 1: while Nassau was still making preparations for Apollo seven and
Speaker 1: Apollo eight was several months away. Hundreds of fruit fly
Speaker 1: eggs made the trip aboard Zen five. The craft's payload
Speaker 1: also included a bacteria culture, a flowering plant, algae strains,
Speaker 1: and the air dried cells of such salad bar staples
Speaker 1: as tomatoes, peas, and carrots. But by far the two
Speaker 1: most complex organisms that boarded Zon five were a couple
Speaker 1: of tortoises in the species test Tuto horsefeldi i, a
Speaker 1: native to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and other parts of Central Asia.
Speaker 1: These shelled creatures are popular in American pet stores. Reptile
Speaker 1: hobbyists often call them Russian tortoises, even though they don't
Speaker 1: naturally occur in Russia. Adults get to be about eight
Speaker 1: ten inches long. That's about the two animals chosen for
Speaker 1: Zon five were around six or seven years old at
Speaker 1: the time. Beginning on September two, The tortoises spent twelve
Speaker 1: days living inside the Zon five spacecraft right up until
Speaker 1: it launched on September. All the while they were purposefully
Speaker 1: deprived of food. Soviet scientists worried that if the reptiles
Speaker 1: were allowed to eat before launchtime, it could taint important
Speaker 1: data that they hoped to collect on the space flight's
Speaker 1: physical side effects. Four days into the mission, the tortoises
Speaker 1: and their travel companions circled the Moon, becoming the first
Speaker 1: living thing things ever to do so. Zon five looped
Speaker 1: around the Moon's far side and took some wonderful photographs.
Speaker 1: Its long journey came to an end September twenty one,
Speaker 1: and the vessel splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Both
Speaker 1: tortoises survived the track, although each one lost about ten
Speaker 1: percent of its body weight, they were found to be
Speaker 1: in good health overall. The caretakers also reported that the
Speaker 1: adventure didn't hurt their appetites. The creatures enjoyed some nutritious
Speaker 1: dinners after coming home. But if you ever decide to
Speaker 1: adopt the Russian tortoise as a pet, prepare yourself for
Speaker 1: a long commitment. The species can live for over forty
Speaker 1: years in captivity. Today's episode is based on the article
Speaker 1: the Time to Russian space tortoises beat Apollo to the
Speaker 1: Moon on how stuff works dot Com, written by Mark Vancini.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership
Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot Com, and it is produced
Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. The four more podcasts from my heart
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