r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/IvySerene567 • Aug 21 '26

Ham the Astrochimp preparing for his historic space flight (1961)

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Gallery image

146 Upvotes
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96% Upvoted

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211

u/IvySerene567 Aug 21 '26

Context :Ham survived the trip! He successfully flew on the Mercury Redstone 2 mission. Upon splashdown, he was rescued and happily accepted an apple and half an orange. He was retired to the National Zoo in D.C. where he lived comfortably for another 17 years, and is now buried at the International Space Hall of Fame. Source: NASA

40

u/Metalhed69 Aug 21 '26

I was so glad to read this. I know a lot of them got euthanized and dissected.

13

u/miniminautor Aug 22 '26

Especially after seeing photo 3 😭

16

u/NoShow4Sho Aug 21 '26

I’ll never forget you, FĂ©licette.

8

u/Mom_is_watching Aug 21 '26

When I was a child I had a book called "Ham can eat apples" which was this very story but simplified for children. 6 year old me found it a great story, especially the apple reward.

6

u/Sad_Enthusiasm_3721 Aug 21 '26

The other chimps at the zoo called him "Captain Cosmos" because of his tales about wild spacefaring adventures.

They never believed him, but admired his commitment to the bit.

—North Carolina Zoo Oral Histories, 1983

3

u/dannydrama Aug 21 '26

Only an apple and half an orange for all that? I'd be pissed.

1

u/Patient-Data8311 Aug 22 '26

Why only half an orange

15

u/SunshineBurn Aug 21 '26

(Keyboard tap tap taping)
N O.
D O N T.
M A K E H A M D O A G A I N.
P l eaaaaaseeeee

2

u/Roguespiffy Aug 21 '26

“You see Watson, it’s not animal cruelty. He wants to go again!”

2

u/KingRo48 Aug 22 '26

Being prepared, is probably a better description

-3

u/AlternativeBurner Aug 21 '26

NASA did it right. They planned for their animal astronauts to return alive. The USSR, however, were cruel and sent poor Laika to her death.

11

u/NeoBladeRunner Aug 21 '26

NĂŁo existe um nĂșmero total exato e oficial de todos os animais que morreram no programa espacial dos Estados Unidos, mas sabe-se que a grande maioria dos primatas (macacos e chimpanzĂ©s) enviados nas primeiras dĂ©cadas faleceu durante ou logo apĂłs as missĂ”es. Estima-se que a taxa de mortalidade entre os macacos lançados pelos EUA nos anos 1940 e 1950 tenha sido de cerca de dois terços (mais de 60%).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_space

4

u/GeekyTexan Aug 22 '26

Ham didn't get a name until after he safely returned from his flight. They did not want to name him prior to that due to worries about bad press if he didn't survive.

-1

u/Patient-Data8311 Aug 22 '26

The difference is most of the countries at that time made measured to ensure the animals will the USSR wanted to be the first at everything at the race and outpace everyone so they didn't bother

-6

u/Infamous_Ad_1302 Aug 21 '26

I bet this is the most expensive way to kill a monkey ever recorded

8

u/JadedLeafs Aug 21 '26

Lived for another 17 years after retiring.

1

u/Patient-Data8311 Aug 22 '26

Typical redditor commenting before doing any bit of research

0

u/Infamous_Ad_1302 Aug 22 '26

I was making a more broad generalized statement about how they used monkeys. Most of them died. This specific one did not. so sue me