Heartbreaking story of what happened

Before sending humans to space, NASA used animals to test the risks of space travel. One of the most famous was Ham, a chimpanzee launched on January 31, 1961. After being trained at Holloman Air Force Base, Ham became the first chimp in space, experiencing 6.6 minutes of weightlessness during his 16.5-minute flight. Though the mission had technical issues, Ham returned safely, paving the way for the first human astronaut, Alan Shepard, just months later. Sadly, Ham spent much of his post-space life in captivity, first at the Washington Zoo and later at the North Carolina Zoological Park, where he died in 1983.

Other animals tested for space travel included monkeys, dogs, cats, and even jellyfish. The first space animal, a rhesus macaque named Albert I, died in 1948, followed by several other failed missions. Success came in 1951 when a monkey named Yorick returned alive, though he died shortly after landing. The Soviets famously sent Laika, a stray dog, into orbit in 1957, but she perished due to overheating. Later missions saw a variety of species, including turtles and insects. While many animals lost their lives, NASA acknowledges their vital role in advancing human space exploration.