However an event in 1957 turned his life upside down. Laïka, the dog which the Russians has sent into space, died and da Costa was so disturbed by this event that he decided to build a mausoleum dedicated to the dog which had died a lonely death, somewhere in outer space. This mausoleum which was topped by a sputnik which served as a weather vane, was the start of 20 years of creativity.