Space Chimpanzee While in Flight
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"Ham", whose name was an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medicine, became the first chimpanzee in space aboard the Mercury Redstone rocket on January 31, 1961. Ham was born in French Camarrons, West Africa in July of 1956 or 57 and brought to the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to start his training in 1959. Ham's mission paved the way for the first human astronauts. Ham died in 1983 is memorialized by a burial stone at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico; while his skeleton is part of the National Museum of Health and Medicine's collection. Dr. Thomas Lee Wolfle, D.V.M. (TAMU '61) worked with Ham and other NASA Primate in the program in those early days.
Description
Close up photo of "Ham" the Chimpanzee shown here during the 5000 mile per hour ride. This photograph was taken by an automatic 16 mm camera with a film exposure of four frames per second. Writing on the photo or group of photos: ' NASA Photo No. 61-MR2-32. For Immediate Release 2-10-61. "Ham" , the first chimpanzee to ever ride into space, is shown here during the 5000 mile per hour ride. This photograph was taken by an automatic 16 mm camera with a film exposure of four frames per second. ' Physical description: Black and white print (photograph) 24x19mm.Subject
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationChimpanzees
Primates--Training
Space research
Space sciences
Ham
Animal space flight
Space Flight
Research
Animals, Laboratory
Aerospace Medicine
Citation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1961). Space Chimpanzee While in Flight. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /161800.