Ham, Space Chimp

Ham, space chimp was also known as Ham the Astrochimp, was the first hominid launched into space by the American space program. He was trained at Holloman Air Force Base.

The program at Holloman began with forty chimps, but after extensive evaluation the group was reduced to 6. Ham’s original designation was No.65 and he was not renamed until after he had returned to Earth. He had been called Chop Chop Chang by his handler prior to flight. His training included learning to perform simple tasks in response to lights and sounds. He was taught to push a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light.

On January 31, 1961, Ham was secured in biopack couch inside a Mercury capsule. He was launched during mission MR-2(Mercury-Redstone 2). This was a suborbital flight during which Ham’s vital signs and tasks were constantly monitored. During the spaceflight the capsule partially lost pressure, but the spacesuit Ham was wearing prevented him from being harmed. Ham’s lever-pushing performance while in flight was only a fraction of a second slower than it had been on Earth; thus, demonstrating that tasks could be performed in space.

Ham, space chimp extraordinaire, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean the same day he was launched. The flight had lasted 16 minutes and 39 seconds. The only physical damage suffered by Ham was a bruised nose.

Ham lived until 1983. He died peacefully having filled a great role in the history of American space flight.

We have written many articles about Ham, the space chimp for Universe Today. Here’s an article about space monkey, and here’s an article about Mercury 2.

If you’d like more info on Ham, the space chimp, check out these articles:
Ham, the Chimp
Animals in Space

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast about the space shuttle. Listen here, Episode 127: The US Space Shuttle.

Source: NASA

Tagged as: Ham, Mercury Redstone, space chimp