The only cat in space was euthanized for science

Félicette is the only cat to have survived a space flight, carried out on 18 October 1963 aboard a Véronique AGI rocket from the Algerian Sahara. Electrodes had been implanted on her skull to record her neurological activity during the thirteen minutes the capsule lasted. She was finally euthanized two months after her return so that researchers could examine her brain.