First animals to circle the Moon

A pair of tortoises were the first animals to circle the Moon, in a Soviet spacecraft in 1968. The Zond 5 spacecraft on which they were stowed splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Especially remarkable is that in circling the moon they entered deep space, the first animals to do so (if we discount the flies and worms). Zond 5 was also the first spacecraft to accomplish a flyby of the moon and return to Earth. It was the prelude to sending a manned mission. On retrieval, scientists found the tortoises had lost 10 per cent of their body weight and their glycogen and iron levels were raised, but showed no ill effects or loss of appetite.