Space Chimps -

Enos had a harder time. He was subject to a simulation where he was shocked 47 times for "incorrect" responses—not because he was failing, but because the equipment was malfunctioning and shocking him regardless of his actions. Despite this painful distraction and the disorientation of orbital flight, Enos continued to perform his duties.

His mission was a success. After completing two orbits, the capsule splashed down. Enos was retrieved in good spirits, reportedly jumping around the deck of the recovery ship and shaking the hands of the sailors. Unfortunately, Enos’s story ends tragically. Eleven months after his flight, he died of dysentery (shigellosis) unrelated to his space travel. He was only six years old.

Before humans went to space, NASA utilized chimpanzees to test the safety of spaceflight: Ham (1961) Space Chimps

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It is easy to dismiss the real chimps as cruel relics of a bygone scientific age. But it is crucial to recognize that without them, the Mercury Seven might never have left the launch pad. They performed their duty under impossible duress. Enos had a harder time

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, NASA's Chimp Program took center stage, with the primary objective of sending chimpanzees into space to test the safety and feasibility of space travel for humans. The program was a significant component of NASA's human spaceflight initiative, and its success relied heavily on the contributions of these remarkable animals.

Ham’s training was brutal by modern animal welfare standards, but innovative for its time. He was taught to look at a flashing blue light (the "warning light") and pull a lever within five seconds. If he succeeded, he got a banana pellet. If he failed, he received a mild electric shock to the soles of his feet. He learned to operate the lever with the speed and precision of a human pilot. His mission was a success

The contributions of Space Chimps to our understanding of space travel and its effects on living organisms cannot be overstated. These intelligent animals helped scientists:

The "Space Chimps" were retired. However, a scandal erupted in the 1990s regarding their post-NASA care. Many of the surviving chimps were kept in substandard conditions by the Holloman Air Force Base. This led to a court battle and the eventual retirement of nearly 100 chimps to the in Louisiana. The last remaining "space chimps" lived out their days in sanctuary, no longer used as test subjects.