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Before Yuri Gagarin, before Alan Shepard\u2026 a chimp called Ham was blasted into space for six-and-a-half minutes of weightlessness on 31st January, 1961. He successfully returned to Earth without serious physical injury, albeit over 100 miles away from NASA\u2019s intended splashdown location.\nTravelling at 5,857 m.p.h, Ham was seated in a special chair called a \u2018biopack\u2019, which administered electric shocks to the soles of his feet if he failed to complete basic tasks in orbit.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Ham\u2019s schooling had striking parallels with the training undertaken by human astronauts; reveal just how much of him is actually \u2018buried\u2019 at the International Space Hall of Fame; and explain the fate of the SECOND chimp in space, Enos, who wasn\u2019t quite so lucky\u2026\xa0\nCONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, animal experimentation and dissection\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 Meet Ham The Chimp, The Animal Astronaut Who Changed History (All That\u2019s Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ham-the-chimp\n\u2022 \u2018Ham the astrochimp: hero or victim?\u2019 (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/science/animal-magic/2013/dec/16/ham-chimpanzee-hero-or-victim\n\u2022 \u2018NASA's First Chimp in Space\u2019 (Smithsonian Channel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wdbV4SBGYo\n#60s #space #science\nLove the show? Join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\xa0\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\xa0Thanks!\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices