Félicette

On 18 October 1963, a black-and-white Parisian street cat named Félicette became the first — and only — cat to travel to space. France's space programme had trained 14 cats for the mission, selecting candidates based on temperament and weight. Félicette was chosen as the primary candidate, with electrodes implanted in her brain to monitor neurological activity during the flight. She was launched aboard a Véronique AG1 rocket from the Algerian Sahara, reaching an altitude of 157 kilometres (just above the Kármán line) and experiencing around five minutes of weightlessness before the capsule separated and parachuted to the ground. Félicette survived the flight in good health and was recovered two hours later. She lived for another two months after her flight before being euthanised so that scientists could examine her brain implants. For decades, Félicette was largely forgotten — misidentified in press reports as a male cat named "Felix" — until a successful crowdfunding campaign raised €57,000 in 2019 to erect a bronze statue of her at the International Space University in Strasbourg, finally giving her the recognition she deserved.