Talk:Laika

Too much sentimentality in this article

I think the article wallows too much in the supposed tragedy of this mutt's demise. Compare to the articles about the monkeys Albert I and II, and Gordo, whose deaths were not even met with a shrug. 77.241.129.128 (talk) 21:59, 27 May 2025 (UTC)

Garbage, that’s not ‘too much sentiment’ it’s possibly just not enough care, sentiment for the others that you name. By the way, she changed the animal rights interest and galvanised the Animal Humaine Society in this country, she was 3 years old, yet

altered what was acceptable treatment and what was inhumanity. 2A02:C7C:FC94:2C00:ECDB:7845:89B6:55D1 (talk) 14:50, 2 July 2025 (UTC)

I agree, the article is too sentimental. Wikipedia articles ought not to be based on emotions but on facts, especially in a scientific article. What is one dog "sacrificed" for the benefit of whole mankind when real people have far worse fates every day? ~2025-41521-03 (talk) 06:35, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Can't find source for nickname claim

The article says "Soviet personnel gave her several names and nicknames, among them Kudryavka (Russian for Little Curly), Zhuchka (Little Bug), and Limonchik (Little Lemon)." I could not find sources online that use these names. Could someone help add a citation? SussyBkaa (talk) 17:23, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Edit: Did manage to find a 1957 article about the names. I am working on finding more sources. I do not have permission to edit this article, so feel free to do it for me. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868045-2,00.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by SussyBkaa (talk • contribs) 17:33, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

All of the names are detailed in that Time magazine article, which is adequate sourcing. I'll add the citation. cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is. 20:58, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Lack of source for Laika Mars Claim

I'm writing about Laika for a project in one of my classes and went looking for a source. The closest I can find is a soil target unofficially named "Lanikai," after Hawaii's white sand beaches, from march 27th 2004. https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/lanikai-under-the-microscope/

Nothing about a soil target named Laika anywhere except here or people repeating it from here. Rottingrabbitz (talk) 01:50, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Good catch. I did a very deep dive, and found this:

Based on what's written there, I suspect the naming was informal, possibly on the part of analysts in order to keep track of an interesting image - until it could be more formally characterized. The photo is a 'raw' image, which is typically what is released publicly almost immediately - then some months later a more formal rendering is published.

All that said, I'm going to remove the image. It no longer exists at the URL provided, and the copy at archive.org only has an empty spot for the photo, titled "Microscopic Imager Non-linearized Full frame EDR acquired on Sol 400 of Opportunity's mission to Meridiani Planum at approximately at approximately 12:38:18 Mars local solar time, Microscopic Imager dust cover commanded to be OPEN. NASA/JPL/Cornell/USGS". Not exactly "Laika" by any stretch. cheers. anastrophe, an editor he is. 04:42, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Lanikai is from Sol 52, while "Laika" is from SOl 400 and Soll 405. I added other urls to File:Opportunity-Laikia-soil-target-sol-400.jpg. It is also mentioned (not shown) in some sci articles, eg

I do agree this is an utterly nonnotable piece of trivia to be removed.--Altenmann >talk 06:35, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Lakia's russian-to-english translation

Hi there, I don't know Lakia very well but on the Soviet space dogs page it lists her name as literally translating to 'Barker', not 'Curly' (Source listed as Caswell, Kurt (2018). Laika's window: the legacy of a Soviet space dog. San Antonio: Trinity University Press. ISBN 978-1-59534-862-3. OCLC 1059464071). I didn't want to mess anything up because I'm new here and the page is protected, but would it be a good idea to change it? Or perhaps add a citation for it? Additionally the same source says it's "little curly", not "curly" specifically. Cornonthehunt (talk) 09:55, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

I dont quite understand what you want to change. Our article says that Laika is barker (and indeed it is correct translation. "Кудрявка" or "curly" was dog's original name, and it is not "little curly", i.e., Кудрявка is not a diminutive; it is simply "curly".--Altenmann >talk 16:33, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

Ah, okay! My mistake then, thank you for the correction. Cornonthehunt (talk) 04:54, 24 May 2026 (UTC)

Weird removal of items with wikipedia articles

• The 2007 graphic novel Laika
• Lajka is a 2017 Czech science fiction comedy

How on Earth the sources cited are not reliable? --Altenmann >talk 09:15, 22 June 2026 (UTC)