Ham is fitted into his Mercury space cockpit capsule. His feet are bound down so he can’t move them. During the space flight if he pressed a right button he was rewarded with a banana wafer – if he was wrong he’d Get an electric shock.
By Ron and Linda Laytner Copyright 2009 Edit International
But Ham, who didn't like mixing with other chimps, spent years alone in a Washington, DC zoo. He finally mixed with a Chimp family in a zoo in North Carolina where he died at age 26. Other space Chimps blew up on The world’s most famous Chimpanzee was African-born launch pads or were used as living crash dummies. At Ham. He was one of 40 ‘astro’ Chimps bought by the US least Ham has a big memorial grave site at the New MexAir Force in 1959 for space exploration at Holloman Air ico Museum of Space. Base in New Mexico. The second Chimpanzee to go up in space, Enos, orbited He was trained to push a lever in response to a signal the earth twice, paving the way for John Glenn’s flight. light. If he did it right he was given a banana pellet. Enos died of an infection shortly after. Glenn wrote he Wrong and his feet were electrically shocked. was humbled when he met little Caroline Kennedy who asked, “Where is the monkey?” Four-year-old Ham's 17 minute sub-orbital Mercury mission on Jan. 31, 1961 set the stage for US Astronaut Alan The rest of the ‘astro Chimps’ were used in US experiShepard to go up five months later. Shepard went on to ments and laboratory research until finally they were fame and glory and was later the third man to walk on rescued by Florida’s Dr. Carol Noon. the moon. Where Are They Now?
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