{"id":4214,"date":"2026-07-09T06:36:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4214"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:36:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:36:42","slug":"ham-the-astrochimp-first-ape-in-space-who-retired-to-the-nc-zoo-finally-gets-his-due","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4214","title":{"rendered":"Ham the Astrochimp, first ape in space who retired to the NC Zoo, finally gets his due"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1961, scientists pinned their hopes for space travel on a 4-year-old chimpanzee named Ham, loading him aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket, strapping on a NASA helmet and launching him 157 miles above the Earth.<\/p>\n

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For 16 minutes, Ham the Astrochimp zoomed through space at 5,800 mph, dropping safely into the Atlantic Ocean as the first hominid in space \u2014 only months before the first human.<\/p>\n

Back on Earth, Ham would screech at photographers and bite the finger of his handler, but he demonstrated conclusively that people could endure the rigors of space flight, ushering in a new era of exploration.<\/p>\n

And on Tuesday, the high-flying chimp will receive a state historic marker in Asheboro<\/a> outside the NC Zoo where he enjoyed retirement \u2014 a monument to ape bravery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Ham\u2019s curiosity and intelligence that brought him fame,\u201d The N&O wrote in 1980. \u201cHe outscored all his schoolmates in learning to pull levers and execute commands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ham\u2019s suborbital flight came in January of 1961, several years after the Soviet Union sent Laika the space dog into orbit aboard Sputnik 2. Unlike Laika, who died of overheating, Ham returned to tell the tale.<\/p>\n

G-forces hit the chimp harder than expected, and his rocket veered off its trajectory, but he completed his tasks during the 16-minute flight, proving that cognitive and physiological functions could withstand the pressures.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe picture was all in close-ups and the rubbery faced little ape made the most of it,\u201d The Associated Press reported. \u201cHis wild-eyed glances over his shoulder as the Redstone rocket shot him along at 5,000 mph were more expressive than those of any terrified maiden fleeing from a Hollywood villain.\u201d<\/p>\n

NC marker officials noted that his flight notched not only a scientific triumph but also a geopolitical edge over the Soviets in the Cold War race to space. It was temporary, though, as cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin would beat US astronaut Alan Shepherd there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis outcome was instrumental in confirming the feasibility of human spaceflight, directly influencing the design and safety protocols for Alan Shepard\u2019s mission four months later,\u201d wrote the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. \u201cThe physiological data collected during Ham\u2019s flight, such as heart rate, respiration, and stress responses, provided NASA with critical insights into the biological effects of space travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

News reports recounted Ham\u2019s \u201clife of a loner\u201d following his groundbreaking flight, continuing to perform experiments for the Air Force.<\/p>\n

He retired first to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and then to the NC Zoo, where he died in 1983 at 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe adapted well to the group,\u201d zoo spokesman Sanders Lewallen told The N&O at the time, \u201cand in fact, had begun showing very healthy signs of friendship with Maggie, a female in the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Other animals had flown before Ham but his body chemistry showed humans could withstand g-forces and other rigors of space travel after Laika the Soviet dog died<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHam the Astrochimp, first ape in space who retired to the NC Zoo, finally gets his due - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4214\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ham the Astrochimp, first ape in space who retired to the NC Zoo, finally gets his due - 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