Primate Flights

Credit - NASA

Sam, prepping for flight.

Credit - NASA

Ham with his trainer.

 

Credit - NASA

Ham, prior to his flight.

Credit - NASA

Ham, after his sub-orbital flight.

 

Credit - NASA

Enos prepping for flight.

Credit - NASA

Enos

The MR-2 flight of Ham^* lasted 16 minutes, 39 seconds, and travelled to an altitude of 157 statute miles. A malfunction of the booster caused Ham to experience 15 Gs on reentry instead of the expected 12 Gs. While awaiting pickup, the capsule began to leak and 800 lbs of seawater entered the capsule. Ham was recovered by a helicopter from the USS Donner. NASA personnel tried to get Ham back into his couch for a photo session several days after his flight, but he refused to go near it. Ham was later housed in the Washington National Zoo, then moved to a zoo in North Carolina where he eventually died of an enlarged heart on 17 January 1983. Ham was born in the French Camaroons in July 1957. His name was an acronym for Holloman Aero Med.

The MA-5 flight of Enos^* lasted 3 hours, 20 minutes, 59 seconds. Recovery was by the USS Stormes which arrived about a hour and 15 minutes after splashdown. Despite a malfunction in the reward system which caused Enos to be punished for correct actions and rewarded for errors, he performed flawlessly. Enos dies from a severe form of dysentery six months after his flight.

The Bion missions were launched by Russia (before 1992, the Soviet Union). Research partners have included (but were not limited to) Canada, China, the European Space Agency, France, Germany, and the United States.

* - "Chimp to Space" originated in 1958 at the Holloman Aeromedical Laboratory in New Mexico. There were 65 chimpanzees who began training in 1959. Six chimpanzees (two male, four female) were taken to Cape Canaveral in January of 1961. Chimp Number 65, also known as Chop Chop Chang, was also given the name "Ham" (after Holloman Aeromedical Laboratory) during his 1961 flight. Number 85 was also know as Enos. Minnie is the only other chimpanzee of the group about which any real record exists. She died in 1998, age 41, having had nine offspring.

Additional information: The Astrochimps (Air Force Magazine, 1 Sept. 2011

Page last modified: 28 October 2023 20:00:33.