NASA's First Chimp in Space

Video from the channel Smithsonian Channel about Mercury-Redstone 2, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 2:12. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Clip from the Smithsonian Channel series «Apollo's Moon Shot» about the flight of the chimpanzee Ham on the Mercury 2 mission.

It explains that his training was different from that of the astronauts, with foot shocks if he looked away from the panel. His mission was to prove that a primate could function in space, which, according to Margaret Weitekamp, would qualify the vehicle for crewed flights.

After the Mercury 1 mishap, the rocket lifts off from Florida with the three-year-old chimpanzee on board. The capsule loses pressure, but the suit keeps him alive and Ham pulls the levers as he was trained to do. Ships recover the capsule in the Atlantic: Ham arrives tired and somewhat dehydrated, with only a bruise on his nose.