In 1957, street dog Laika was the first living being to be launched into space and, thus, certain death. According to legend her spirit came back to Earth to roam the streets of Moscow alongside other stray dogs. In their essay film, Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter follow this legend and accompany two of Laika’s descendants on a fascinating journey from night to dawn. We see the world through these dogs’ eyes: a world shaped by humans where living in an urban environment effectively means living in the wild. Interspersed with historical footage from test labs for the Soviet space missions, SPACE DOGS demonstrates how animals were and are used for scientific purposes and to further political agendas. A shift of perspective exposes humanity’s desperate attempts of defeating time and space.