On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee by the name of Ham launched on a Mercury-Redstone rocket and ended up being the very first hominid to go to space. Ham reached an altitude of 157 miles throughout a 16 and a half-minute flight and was recuperated unhurt, but a bit dehydrated.The real-life Ham is led down the steps from a trailer. (Image credit: NASA) The two-year-old chimpanzee underwent rigorous training prior to the flight and found out to do timed jobs in response to electric lights and noises. Hams ability to accomplish jobs under the extreme conditions of spaceflight revealed NASA that human astronauts might do the same.Catch up on our whole “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive! Still not sufficient space? Do not forget to have a look at our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..
