On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham became the first great ape to travel to space. His mission was crucial in proving that living beings could survive and function in microgravity. While his ...

Ham the chimp launched into space before he spent some of his retirement years in North Carolina. NASA A pioneering chimpanzee went into space for NASA — then retired to North Carolina 44 years ago.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee by the name of Ham blasted off on a Mercury-Redstone rocket and became the first hominid to go ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The New Mexico Museum of Space History will celebrate Astro-Chim HAM and his contributions to America’s space history Saturday, ...