Yuri, 1961

Liquid fueled propulsion, the great space race, Sputnik. These things mean very little to cats, because all cats inherently know what happened to Yuri. This Russian Blue was on the short list of mammals to be the first in outer space. He trained hard both mentally and physically, but he was heartbroken after he was passed up for Ham the chimp—a decision that he felt was based solely on his lack of opposable thumbs. Desperate to prove his worth, Yuri took to the rocket before liftoff. Despite all of his training, Yuri curiously climbed into the wrong end of the rocket.