Ham the Chimpanzee Was Launched into Space
During the Space Race of the 50s and 60s, the United States and the Soviet Union were eager to be the first to take flight into the great unknown of outer space. To do this, both countries used monkeys for experimental procedures to test rockets, parachutes and low-gravity vehicles. This space chimp, named Ham, took a 16-minute suborbital flight in 1961 during which his vitals were monitored by computers on Earth.