A sad tale - discover what happened to ‘Ham’ who was the first chimpanzee launched into space and was not expected to survive ...

Ham received his formal training at Holloman Air Force Base and was named in honor of the Holloman Aeromedical Field laboratory.

Ham, a chimpanzee trained by the US Air Force, was the first great ape in space. He proved primates could perform complex tasks while experiencing the extremes of space travel, thus paving the way ...

As part of Project Mercury, NASA prepared to send a chimpanzee, Ham, into space to test the effects of space on a living creature. Explore Subscribe Newsletters Content Licensing Our Partners ...

On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham became the first great ape to travel to space. His mission was crucial in proving that living beings could survive and function in microgravity.