Sixty years ago, on Oct 18, 1963, the first and only feline astronaut, Felicette the French tuxedo cat, made it to space and back. The Straits Times takes a look at some other animals that have been launched into space, and paved the way for a better understanding of the universe.

The first animals to be launched into space reached an altitude of 109km in 200 seconds.

The first creature to orbit Earth. Sadly, the spacecraft was not designed to return safely and Laika died in orbit.

The first great ape in space reached an altitude of 252km and was rewarded with an apple upon his safe return.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space. His flight lasted 108 minutes and he landed safely via parachute.

The black and white cat was launched 157km above Earth. She returned 15 minutes later, alive and well via parachute.

Two Russian steppe tortoises made the first circumlunar spaceflight, looping around the Moon before returning to Earth seven days later.

Two female cross spiders, Arabella and Anita, wove the first spider web in space.

Two juvenile fish and 50 eggs were sent up in small plastic aquariums. The two fish appeared to suffer from space sickness for a few days.

Over 2,000 jellyfish were launched into orbit to study the effects of microgravity.

A colony of the eight-legged microscopic so-called water bears were sent on a 12-day space trip.