Before Manned Spaceflight There Was “Chimpanned” Spaceflight
On January 31, 1961, a brave 3-year-old chimpanzee was strapped into a capsule inside the Mercury Redstone rocket and launched 160 miles above the earth.
On January 31, 1961, a brave 3-year-old chimpanzee was strapped into a capsule inside the Mercury Redstone rocket and launched 160 miles above the earth. For 16 minutes, he orbited at a speed of 5857 mph before crashing down into the Atlantic Ocean, a little dehydrated, but otherwise unharmed. This furry astronaut, dubbed HAM (for Holloman Aero Med) upon his successful arrival back to Earth, paved the way for the United States' first human astronaut, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., to make history three short months later on May 5, 1961.
Although HAM was the first chimpanzee in space, he was certainly not the first animal in space. A long history of animals in space can be found through NASA's history archives. Fans of HAM's work can pay their respects by visiting his grave near the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamagordo, NM.
Thanks for your contribution to science, AstroChimp HAM. Next stop: Mars?
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Kalliopi Monoyios is an independent science illustrator. She has illustrated several popular science books including Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish and The Universe Within, and Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True. Find her at www.kalliopimonoyios.com. Follow Kalliopi Monoyios on Twitter
