SAD STORY - HAM, THE FIRST CHIMPANZEE IN SPACE

SAD STORY - HAM, THE FIRST CHIMPANZEE IN SPACE

Photo: Nasa

                    

It was 59 years ago, that Ham became the first chimpanzee to land in space on January 31, 1961. Born in Cameroon around 1957, Ham was captured and taken to the Miami Rare Bird Farm, as quoted from the savethecimps.org page. 

In July 1959, Ham was transferred to the Holloman Air Force military base in Alamogordo, NM to be trained in spaceflight as part of Project Mercury.

At that time, Ham was still known as Chang or #65. The name Ham stands for "Holloman Aero Medical".

Ham along with two other young chimpanzees, Minnie and Enos were deliberately trained indoors and sat in chairs for long periods of time.

Not only that, but they also learn to operate levers in response to light cues.

After 18 months of training, Ham was selected as the chimpanzee who could survive the risks of space security.

On January 31, 1961, after several hours of waiting on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, FL, then 3.5-year-old Ham was flown into space strapped to a chair. Ham's flight lasted about 16.5 minutes at a speed of about 5,800 mph to an altitude of 157 miles above the earth.

Despite the high speed, Ham did his job well. However, Ham's space capsule fell 130 miles from its target.

It took several hours for the space carrier to reach Ham's position. Ham was found alive and relatively calm.

When he was removed from the driver's seat, his face broke into a wide smile. 

Although some people interpret the smile as an outpouring of happiness, it is one of extreme fear and anxiety feeling.

This fear was demonstrated again some time later in his refusal when photographers snapped a photo of Ham in his chair.

Unlike other extraterrestrial chimpanzees, Ham was spared decades of biomedical research.

But he had feelings of loneliness for several years, so he had to be transferred to the National Zoo in 1963 and spent 17 years alone there.

After that, Ham was returned to the North Carolina Zoo and lived with the other chimpanzees.

Ham died on January 18, 1983, at the age of 26 years or 22 years after his historic flight.

Ham's bravery and heroism paved the way for Alan Shepard Jr., the first American in space.