Welcome to the second inaugural edition of Famous Hamsters in History (brought to you by State Farm Insurance):

Trixie, named after the token female character from sixties anime Speed Racer, became the first female astronaut to reach outer space in 1981. (As long as you don’t count Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.)

While in space, it was Trixie’s duty to run in a space wheel and build a space nest made of hamster bedding, Kleenex and space cotton. Her mission hit a minor snafu when it was found that NASA had only budgeted enough hamster bedding for three weeks, rather than the four that she was in space. However, with help from Mission Control, her handlers improvised and replaced only the wet bedding during week two, conserving supplies. Ultimately, Trixie’s space mission was successful and her crew boasted a 35% survival rate.