I met the first dogs to survive space travel in a weird Moscow museum

Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems

Oleg Gazenko, director of Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems, holds up Belka (right) and Strelka (left) - the first two dogs to survive a trip to space.

Laika the dog gets all the credit for paving humanity's path to the stars. But the harsh reality is that she didn't survive before returning to Earth in 1957.

The distinction of "first dogs to orbit the Earth and survive" belongs to Belka and Strelka.

Although Belka and Strelka made history 55 years ago, you can still meet these Russian heroes. Or, rather, the taxidermied effigies of the pups that once were.

I recently traveled to Russia and made it my personal mission to visit Moscow's Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. I wasn't disappointed.

Scroll down to see the Soviet space race's furry heroes, who are still on display in a place most Americans don't even know exists.