Motherboard

Humans have had their sights set on visiting the stars for millennia, but we weren’t the first Earthlings to leave the confines of our planet. Before we grew the cojones to actually strap ourselves to our massive space-bound rockets, we enlisted some adorable and unsuspecting critters to get an idea of what humans could expect to experience up there.

Space programs around the world still rely on animals to conduct research both on the ground and in space. They often endure (though not always survive) that which we are too scared or weak to try, so now, as we’re apparently seriously considering basing humans on the Moon, a brief roundup of some real American Heroes.

1. Albert I was the first animal to make the journey towards space. On June 11, 1948, this rhesus monkey took off aboard a V2 Blossom III rocket from White Sands, New Mexico. He traveled 39 miles up, not quite making it to space, and died of suffocation during the experience. Hats off to this brave little soul for helping humanity embark on the exhilarating adventure of space travel.

Albert I, strapped in and ready to rock and roll

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2. Able (7 pound female rhesus monkey) & Baker (1 pound female squirrel monkey) became the first living creatures to survive space flight on May 28, 1959. They were fired 300 miles into space in the nose of a Jupiter missile AM-18 from Cape Canaveral. During the 15 minute flight, these little pioneers reached speeds of up to 10,000 mph and were weightless for nine minutes. They returned to Earth in perfect condition, landing 1,500 miles away in the South Atlantic ocean.

Life Magazine cover commemorating Able and Baker’s successful mission

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News report chronicling Able & Baker and their incredible accomplishment

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3. Ham, whose name stands for “Holloman Aero Med”, was the first chimpanzee in space. He made his successful sub-orbital flight aboard the Mercury Redstone rocket on January 31, 1961. He had an exciting flight that reached an altitude of 157 miles and a speed of 5857 mph. During his 16.5 minute flight Ham was weightless for 6.6 minutes. Doctors found him to be slightly fatigued and dehydrated but otherwise in good health.

Ham’s flight was crucial in the preparations for the first human spaceflight of Alan Shepherd, which would have a similar path and would take place only a few months later. His remains were eventually respectfully laid to rest in front of the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Archival footage depicting how Ham was prepared for his mission and how it was carried out

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Ham being retrieved from the ocean after a safe landing

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4. Following in Ham’s groundbreaking rocket-powered footsteps, Enos was the first chimp to orbit the Earth. He circled the earth twice on November 29, 1961, in a Mercury Atlas rocket. Enos’ good condition upon recovery was the final step in research before sending John Glenn up for the first human orbital flight. Enos survived the trip with no complications, but died 11 months later at the Holloman Air Force Base of an unrelated case of dysentery.

Video showing the launch of Enos’ flight towards Earth’s orbit

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5. The era of spaceflight experiments with monkeys ended on June 28, 1969, with Bonnie. This male, pig-tailed monkey was supposed to spend 30 days aboard Biosatellite III, undergoing tests related to brain states, behavioral performance, and general bodily functions. After just nine days in orbit, however, Bonnie’s health deteriorated so much that the mission was terminated. Bonnie passed away 8 hours after being recovered due to a heart attack caused by dehydration.

Bonnie completing some tests during training

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Doctors examining Bonnie

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Bonnie in the capsule that would take him to space

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As these patriotic primates demonstrate, animals have been crucial to our understanding of space travel and the development of astronaut technology. After the Apollo 11 moon landing, monkeys and animals in general were no longer used as test subjects in the same capacity. Their status was reduced to “biological payload”. The distinction is fuzzy, as animals are still routinely used in space for experiments about microgravity and more. Regardless, many have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and thus Motherboard salutes them. For more on space chimps, see NASA’s take and Hollywood’s take.

A version of this story was originally posted July 29, 2010.

Connections:

• Ode To A Space Dog: 53 Years Since Laika’s Doomed Voyage Into the Cosmos
• New York City Just Got a Space Shuttle That Has Never Been to Space
• Space is Freezing. Why Does the Space Station Need an Air Conditioner?

Images: Monkey-nauts Baker