Latvia has unveiled a 12-metre-tall monument of a monkey-cosmonaut. The statue named 'Sam' is the work of a Russian sculptor.
He says he wants to pay tribute to all animals that died in spaceflight survival tests before manned missions were attempted.
The monument was unveiled in the Latvian capital Riga and will remain in the park until the end of October.
National space programs of several countries including the US, France and China have used animals to investigate the biological effects of space flights.
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