During the Artemis II mission on April 10, astronauts safely returned to Earth after a groundbreaking 10-day space journey. Prior to human space exploration, scientists conducted tests on animals to understand the effects of space travel. On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham the Chimp made history by becoming the first great ape to venture into space aboard the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission under the US Project Mercury.
Originally known as “No 65,” Ham was later renamed as a tribute to the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center where he received training for the mission. His rigorous 15-month training involved learning to perform timed tasks in response to lights and sounds. By successfully completing tasks, he was rewarded with a banana pellet, while failure resulted in a mild electric shock to his feet.
Chimpanzees were chosen for space missions due to their similarities to humans. Ham’s suborbital flight lasted 16 minutes and 39 seconds, during which he was subjected to higher-than-planned acceleration and deceleration forces due to rocket malfunctions. Despite encountering challenges, Ham’s flight provided valuable insights that paved the way for future human space missions.
After a successful return to Earth, Ham was in good physical condition but showed signs of stress and trauma. A photo of him holding a newspaper with the headline “Space Chimp Lives” went viral on Reddit, sparking positive reactions from users. While Ham’s mission ended well, not all animal space travels had a happy ending, as seen in the tragic story of Laika, the dog sent into space in 1957 never to return.
