Chimpanzee who flew into space in 196112/14/2023 Yellow Crane Press, 2008.Ĭassidy, David and Kristin Davy, dirs. Flyboy: The All-True Adventures of a NASA Space Chimp. Your readership is much appreciated! Historical Evidence If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons! Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think? Please share your opinion if you think the use of Enos and his fellow chimpanzees was righteous or “wrong-eous!” Under what circumstances is animal testing ethical or unethical? Please let us know in the comments section below this article. Many people believe animal testing of medicines, health care products, vehicles, and even space ships is cruel and inhumane, and that people should not use animals for this sort of testing. While at least some of Ham’s remains reside in the International Space Hall of Fame (New Mexico), it is unknown what happened to Enos’ remains, quite possibly thrown out with the trash after his post mortem exam. The first chimp sent into space by the US, named Ham, lived for 17 years after his flight. The US space program started with a pool of 40 chimpanzees beginning training at Holloman Air Force Base (New Mexico). Medical examiners found no relation to his space training or flights to the chimp’s death. At that time, there was no effective antibiotic treatment for the ailment. Sadly, Enos died on Novemafter contracting severe diarrhea (shigellosis related dysentery). (Ralph Kramden of the Honeymooners had often threatened his television wife, Alice, to a “Bang, boom, straight to the moon!” but apparently never followed through.) At least Enos survived his flight, while Laika did not. Mercury Atlas 5 had been the final test flight before John Glenn became the first American human astronaut to orbit the Earth in February of 1962.Įnos followed in the “pawsteps” of Laika, the Russian dog, that had been the first living thing sent into space by humans. (And you wonder why PETA keeps getting new recruits!)Įnos and his Mercury space capsule landed in the ocean and was picked up by a US Navy destroyer, the chimpanzee apparently healthy after his amazing flight. Scheduled for 3 orbits, the flight was ended after only 2 orbits due to problems with the spacecraft overheating and (unfortunately) a malfunctioning electric shock device installed to discourage certain behavior! The poor furry guy was “Tased” 76 times during his flight. Enos was picked from the pool of potential space apes only 3 days prior to his flight. Enos had been subjected to over 1250 hours of training prior to his space flight, including experiencing weightlessness and being subjected to G forces. The specially trained “astronaut” chosen for this historic flight was Enos, a chimpanzee that had been bought by NASA from the Miami Rare Bird Farm in 1960. Russian Yuri Gagarin had already orbited the Earth, and 2 American astronauts had made sub-orbital space flights, but the time was right for the US to make the big step into orbital flight. On November 29, 1961, the US space agency, NASA, launched Mercury Atlas 5, the first mission to send an American into orbit around the Earth in space. A main part of the mission was to test whether tasks could be performed in space, the results of which were instrumental when launching the first American in space, Alan Shepard, on. A chimpanzee named Ham was part of the US-led Mercury space programme. On 31 January 1961, the first hominid was launched into space. In the 1950s, the US and the Soviet Union launched a total of 12 dogs on various suborbital flights, Laika being the first. Two other monkeys, Albert III and IV also died when their rockets failed.Ī mouse was launched into space on 15 August 1950 but did not survive the return journey. ![]() On 4 June 1949, Albert II became the first monkey in space, but he died on reentry when the parachute to his capsule failed. These species include rhesus macaques, squirrel monkeys and pig-tailed monkeys. ![]() To date, a total of 32 monkeys have flown in space. As well as the fruit flies and Laika, since the 1940s, a variety of animals have been sent into space including ants, cats, frogs, and even jellyfish.
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