Ham (chimpanzee)

Ham (July 1957 – January 19, 1983), a chimpanzee also known as Ham the Chimp and Ham the Astrochimp, was the first great ape launched into space. On January 31, 1961, Ham flew a suborbital flight on the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission, part of the U.S. space program's Project Mercury.<ref name=csrvlmt>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=chsent>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ham was known as "No 65" before he safely returned to Earth, when he was named after an acronym for the laboratory that prepared him for his historic mission—the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, southwest of Alamogordo. His name was also in honor of the commander of Holloman Aeromedical Laboratory, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton "Ham" Blackshear.<ref name="Swenson">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Brown">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life

Ham was born in July 1957 in French Cameroon,<ref name="NASA Brief History">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Nicholls">Template:Cite web</ref> captured by animal trappers and sent to the Rare Bird Farm in Miami, Florida. He was purchased by the United States Air Force and brought to Holloman Air Force Base in July 1959.<ref name="NASA Brief History" /> Ham was sold to the United States Air Force for $457.<ref name="Nicholls2011">Template:Cite news</ref>

There were originally 40 chimpanzee flight candidates at Holloman. After evaluation, the number of candidates was reduced to 18, then to six, including Ham.<ref name="Animals in Space" />Template:Rp Officially, Ham was known as No. 65 before his flight,<ref name=Smithsonian>Template:Cite web</ref> and only renamed "Ham" upon his successful return to Earth. This was reportedly because officials did not want the bad press that would come from the death of a "named" chimpanzee if the mission were a failure.<ref name=Haraway>Template:Cite book</ref> Among his handlers, No. 65 had been known as "Chop Chop Chang".<ref name=Patch>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Haraway />

File:Ham - physical examination by doctor - NASA 1961.webm

Ham being given a physical examination by a doctor in 1961.

Training and mission

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Launch of Ham's mission, January 31, 1961

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Ham and his trainer, Joseph V. Brady

Beginning in July 1959, the two-year-old chimpanzee was trained under the direction of neuroscientist Joseph V. Brady at Holloman Air Force Base Aero-Medical Field Laboratory to do simple, timed tasks in response to electric lights and sounds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During his pre-flight training, Ham was taught to push a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light; failure to do so resulted in an application of a light electric shock to the soles of his feet, while a correct response earned him a banana pellet.<ref name="This New Ocean" />Template:Rp Ham was trained for 219 hours during a 15-month period.<ref name="Rohles1963">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

While Ham was the first great ape, he was not the first animal to go to space, as there were many other types of animals, including primates, that left Earth's atmosphere before him. However, none of these other animals could provide the significant insight that Ham could provide. One of the reasons that a chimpanzee was chosen for this mission was because of their many similarities to humans. Some of their similarities include: similar organ placement inside the body and having a response time to a stimulus that was very similar to that of humans (just a couple of deciseconds slower). Through the observations of Ham scientists would gain a better understanding of the possibility of sending humans into space.<ref name="Smithsonian" />

File:Ham receives his well deserved apple.jpg

Ham receives an apple following his successful recovery from the Atlantic

On January 31, 1961, Ham was secured in a Project Mercury mission designated MR-2 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a suborbital flight.<ref name=csrvlmt /><ref name="This New Ocean">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Based on dental eruption, Ham was 44 months old at the time of the flight.<ref name="Rohles1963"/>Template:Rp

A number of physiological sensors were used to monitor the vital signs (electrocardiogram, respiration, and body temperature) of Ham.<ref name="Ward1963">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp A commercial rectal thermistor probe was used instead of the probe used on the human Mercury astronauts.<ref name="Wheelwright1962">Template:Cite tech report</ref><ref name="Ward1963"/>Template:Rp The probe was inserted 8 inches deep into Ham's rectum.<ref name="Ward1963"/>Template:Rp The physiological sensors were placed on Ham about 10 hours before liftoff.<ref name="Stingely1963">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Ham's ability to complete tasks during the flight were assessed by the psychomotor apparatus.<ref name="Brown1963">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The apparatus gave Ham a visual cue in the form of colored lights and required a response from two levers; if he succeed in his task, drink and food pellet would be awarded; failure would be punished by a shock to the soles of his feet.<ref name="Brown1963"/>Template:Rp

Due to a valve malfunction, the Redstone rocket delivered thrust higher than intended.<ref name="Burgess2014">Template:Cite book</ref> The anomaly triggered the emergency escape rocket and subjected Ham to 17 g of acceleration.<ref name="Burgess2014"/> The jettison of the spent escape rocket also caused the retro rocket pack to be prematurely jettisoned.<ref name="Burgess2014"/> The lack of the retro rocket caused the capsule to reenter the atmosphere with excessive speed.<ref name="Burgess2014"/> Ham was subjected to 14.7 g during reentry.<ref name="Burgess2014"/> Ham's capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean and was recovered by the USS Donner later that day.<ref name="This New Ocean" />Template:Rp The capsule was damaged during splashdown and settled deeper in the water than designed.<ref name="Burgess2014"/>

The post flight examination found a small abrasion on the bridge of Ham's nose; he was also dehydrated and lost 5.37% body weight; he was otherwise in good physical condition.<ref name="Ward1963"/>Template:Rp His flight was 16 minutes and 39 seconds long.<ref name="NASA stats">Template:Cite web</ref> He would become agitated when the press approached him and panic when his handler would try to situate him into a capsule for photos.<ref name="Alexander1966">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

Ham's lever-pushing performance in space was only a fraction of a second slower than on Earth, demonstrating that tasks could be performed in space.<ref name="This New Ocean" />Template:Rp Of the two shocks Ham received in flight, the one shortly after the launch was due to an error in the testing apparatus; the other one due to the lack of response after experiencing 14 g deceleration during reentry.<ref name="Rohles1963"/>Template:Rp The results from his test flight led directly to Alan Shepard's May 5, 1961, suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Later life

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Ham is greeted by the commander of the recovery ship after his flight

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The Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule that carried Ham to space on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, California

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Ham's grave at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, New Mexico

Ham retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1963.<ref name=":0">Schierkolk, Andrea (July 2015). "HAM, A Space Pioneer". Military Medicine. 180 (7): 835 – via Oxford Academic.</ref> On April 5, 1963, Ham was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived for 17 years<ref name="Animals in Space">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp before joining a small group of chimps at North Carolina Zoo on September 25, 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ham suffered from chronic heart and liver disease.<ref name=":0" /> On January 19, 1983, at age 25, Ham died.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After his death, Ham's body was given to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for necropsy. Following the necropsy, the plan was to have him taxidermied and placed on display at the Smithsonian Institution, following Soviet precedent with pioneering space dogs Belka and Strelka. However, this plan was abandoned after a negative public reaction.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ham's skeleton is held in the collection of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, Silver Spring, Maryland,<ref name="Nicholls"/> and the rest of Ham's remains were buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Colonel John Stapp gave the eulogy at the memorial service.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ham's backup, Minnie, was the only female chimpanzee trained for the Mercury program. After her role in the Mercury program ended, Minnie became part of an Air Force chimpanzee breeding program, producing nine offspring and helping to raise the offspring of several other members of the chimpanzee colony.<ref name="Animals in Space" />Template:Rp She was the last surviving astro-chimpanzee and died at age 41 on March 14, 1998.<ref name="Animals in Space" />Template:Rp

Cultural references

• Ray Allen & The Embers released the song "Ham the Space Monkey" in 1961.
• Tom Wolfe's 1979 book The Right Stuff depicts Ham's spaceflight,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> as do its 1983 film and 2020 TV adaptations.
• The 2001 film Race to Space is a fictionalized version of Ham's story; the chimpanzee in the film is named "Mac".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 2007, a French documentary made in association with Animal Planet, Ham—Astrochimp #65, tells the story of Ham as witnessed by Jeff, who took care of Ham until his departure from the Air Force base after the success of the mission. It is also known as Ham: A Chimp into Space / Ham, un chimpanzé dans l'espace.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• The 2008 3D animated film Space Chimps follows anthropomorphic chimpanzees and their adventures in space. The primary protagonist is named Ham III, depicted as the grandson of Ham.Template:Cn
• In 2008, Bark Hide and Horn, a folk-rock band from Portland, Oregon, released a song titled "Ham the Astrochimp", detailing the journey of Ham from his perspective.<ref>For Melville, With Love Template:Webarchive, by Ezra Ace Caraeff, August 14, 2008, Portland Mercury</ref>

See also

• Animals in space
• Monkeys and apes in space
• Albert II, a rhesus monkey, became the first mammal in space on June 14, 1949
• Laika, a Soviet space dog, was the first animal to orbit Earth, November 3, 1957
• Yuri Gagarin, the first human and second hominid in space as well as the first primate in orbit, orbited April 12, 1961
• Enos, the second of the two chimpanzees launched into space, and the only one to orbit Earth, November 29, 1961
• Félicette, the only cat in space, October 18, 1963
• One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps, 2008 documentary
• Spaceflight
• List of individual apes

Further reading

• Template:Cite book Brief biography of Ham, aimed at children ages 9–12.
• Template:Cite book A novel about Ham and his trainer.
• Template:Cite book Book covering the life and flight of Ham, plus other space animals.

External links

• Pictures from the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive
• Who2 profile: Ham the Chimp
• Animal Astronauts
• Chimp Ham: "Trailblazer In Space" 1961 Detroit News
• In Praise of Ham the Astrochimp Template:Webarchive in LIFE