Ham the “Astrochimp”made history when he became the first member of his species to be launched into space in 1961. But after becoming famous, he lived alone for almost two decades, historians said.
That was until Sept. 25, 1980, when Ham came to the North Carolina Zoo to spend time with other primates. Here’s what we know about the chimp’s life on the 44-year anniversary of his move.
Why did the chimp go to space?
Ham was born in Central Africa in 1957, about two years before he was brought to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. His name was an acronym for Holloman Aero Med, the lab where he received training during the space race, according to the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
In a practice that has sparked controversy, the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said “space researchers at Holloman began using animals, initially monkeys and mice, in the late 1940s to test whether they could send a living creature into space and return it to Earth alive.”
As scientists studied their bodies’ reactions, chimps were trained to pull levers for treats and were given light shocks to their feet when they didn’t do their tasks correctly. The animals also were “exposed to simulated g-forces and microgravity to prepare them for spaceflight, just like their human counterparts,” according to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Then it came time for Ham to go into space. On Jan. 31, 1961, NASA said he launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on the Mercury-Redstone rocket, going “over 400 miles down range in an arching trajectory that reached a peak of 158 miles above the Earth.”
During the mission, Ham pulled the levers as he had been taught. But the nearly 17-minute flight reached a higher altitude and speed than planned.
“There was a partial loss of air pressure while in space, but disaster was averted because of the pressurized capsule encasing Ham,” the Smithsonian wrote on its website. “After splashdown, water flooded the capsule and if the rescue helicopter had not arrived when it did, Ham might have drowned.”
What happened during the chimp’s retirement years?
After Ham journeyed into space, the Smithsonian said he gained wide attention in the press.
“Following his mission Ham was found to be slightly fatigued and dehydrated, but otherwise, in good health,” North Carolina historians wrote in a blog post. “His flight heralded the launch of America’s first human astronaut, Alan B. Shepard Jr., later that year.”
Then in 1963, Ham settled at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He lived there alone for about 17 years before he joined other primates at the N.C. Zooin Asheboro, a roughly 70-mile drive west from Raleigh.
“I’ve heard reports that Ham was aggressive, but I’m not clear if he really was or if that was misinterpretation of normal male chimp behavior/aggressiveness,” Jennifer Ireland, the zoo’s curator of mammals, told McClatchy News in an email. “Ham was the only adult male here at the time and the keepers were likely unfamiliar with adult male behavior. They also managed the chimps in a way that did not set an adult male up for success.”
At the zoo, officials said Ham made an impact on his caretakers. He also became particularly close to Maggie the chimp.
“During quiet moments, the two perched on the habitat’s rocks, grooming each other, and when playful moods struck, they swung from a climbing gym and splashed in the stream,” Our State magazine reported. “In his time at the zoo, Ham became the troop’s alpha male, the highest-ranking member whom others looked to for leadership.”
Ham was in his 20s when he died from heart and liver disease in 1983. After his death, North Carolina historians said the chimp’s “skeleton was removed for further study and his other remains were buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico.”
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