In 1958, a mouse nicknamed Minnie Mouse was sent to space by the United States Air Force under the first Mouse-in-Able (MIA-1) mission aboard a two-stage Thor-Able rocket. The mission took place on April 23, 1958, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The United States was studying how living animals could respond to conditions linked to spaceflight. The mouse was placed inside a life-support capsule with instruments and an air-generation system. The mission was designed to study high-g acceleration, sustained zero-g conditions and atmospheric reentry. However, the flight ended after 146 seconds when a turbopump bearing failed. The rocket exploded and the nose cone sank into the Atlantic Ocean.
The history of space exploration includes several missions in which animals were used to study the effects of spaceflight on living organisms. One such mission took place in 1958 when the United States Air Force launched a mouse aboard a Thor-Able rocket.
