The idea of human beings wanting to fly to space has appeared since ancient times, but due to the backward level of science and technology, in the many years before World War II, dreams have always been dreams.
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union launched a crazy all-round competition, they all locked their eyes on outer space, which country if the first to let astronauts soar in outer space, then which country's soft power will inevitably win the world's attention, in this context, 61 years ago, the United States sent a chimpanzee to space first "paved the way".
A chimpanzee mission
The desire to fly extends beyond the atmosphere and is not something that only happened after World War II.
As early as 1638, John Wilkins, in his book Discovery of the New World, depicted humans walking on the moon in low-gravity conditions: standing on the moon, as smooth as standing on the ground, moving faster than any creature on Earth.
In the years since, the scene of survival in the outer space has been filled with the infinite fantasies of human beings.
However, after the end of World War II, the entire world pattern changed dramatically, and the two countries competed wildly after the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite above the Americans.
At the time, it felt like a child's fighting spirit, and it was for this reason that the path of human soaring in space was forced forward.
There was nothing wrong with both countries' initial starting point: the Soviets preferred to experiment with dogs, while the Americans preferred to experiment with gorillas.
Both animals are mammals, which proves that if mammals can survive in space, then humans are not so special.
After all, if a country wants to train an astronaut, it will pay a huge cost, and it will not be willing to do such a thing if it casually lets an astronaut risk death and rush into space.
Hamm is a chimpanzee whose past work is even more dangerous than most humans.
Originally, in order to defeat the Soviet Union in the "space race", the United States specially selected 40 "well-trained" chimpanzees to be trained in the target of flying into space, and Hamm was one of them.
According to the direction of the "competition" at that time, if any country can send human beings to outer space to explore, then it can get the "Holy Grail", which is also particularly important in the international context at that time.
The reason why the United States chose chimpanzees is because this animal has a lot of similarities with humans, Hamm's hometown is in Cameroon, Africa, and its zoo in Florida, usa, is also a "big star" in the animal kingdom, and many people will come to praise the clever Hamm.
Later, Hamm was discovered by the US Air Force, who paid for Hamm to buy it back, trained with other orangutans, and finally decided to send it to outer space.
Before that, a Russian hound named Laika had flown into space, and it was in November 1957 that as Sputnik 2 entered Earth orbit, the first animal in Earth's history to travel in space was born.
It is reasonable to say that the United States has started a few years behind the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Lycra Hound has not returned, which also gives the United States the motivation to catch up.
It can also be inferred from this that if astronauts want to complete space flight, the test they face can be imagined.
Laika's fate is also very tragic.
According to the official Soviet version: after Lycra had completed a week's flight, it reached an altitude of 1600 kilometers from Earth, and according to the plan, it ate a highly toxic dinner and then died quietly.
However, another shocking news was announced by a former Soviet scientist in 2002: Laika did not live that long, in fact, it died of excessive fright and heat stroke within a few hours of flying into space, and the sensor also pointed out that in the final stages of Laika's life, it also endured great suffering.
Because of its access to space, Laika also became the most famous puppy, and American newspapers also called the satellites of the former Soviet Union "Laika's satellites".
The ultimate goal of training chimpanzees in the United States is actually very simple: to get Hamm out alive and then come back alive.
Hamm's name also has a profound meaning, representing the acronym for Holloman Aeronautical Medical Center in New Mexico, where Hamm completed his training.
Hamm's training, which lasted two and a half years, was already equipped to accomplish simple tasks and respond to light and sound as well.
In order to train this chimpanzee, the United States even used "banana training".
When the orangutan pushes the putter for 5 seconds when he sees the blue flash, he can get a banana as a reward, and if he does not complete the reward, then Hamm's foot will be punished with a slight click.
The food eaten in the test will also be banana sacs specially prepared for space flight.
On January 31, 1961, Hamm went into space as a member of the MR-2 task force, but unfortunately the mission did not go as smoothly as expected.
The angle of the flight path was higher than originally planned after launch, causing the spacecraft to enter a space area 252 kilometers from Earth, about 185 kilometers above the original plan, and at that altitude, the oxygen content plummeted.
After six minutes of flight in outer space, the capsule traveled through space at a speed of 8,046 kilometers per hour, and the chimpanzee named Hamm also fully experienced what is called weightlessness.
After flying for 16 minutes and 39 seconds, the capsule began to fall, crashing straight into the Atlantic Ocean.
All the members of the experimental group were praying for one thing: that They might have been alive.
The rescue team quickly reached the designated area to begin the search, and after an intense rescue work, the capsule was finally found.
Everyone was surprised to find out: Hamm was still alive.
After Hamm came out of the cabin, he immediately got an apple and half an orange, which is also an affirmation of it, fortunately Hamm does not have a human mind, otherwise according to its feat, it is not a small favor that can be completed.
At the time, Hamm was almost unscathed, and although the outer space flight was very short, it also made Hamm the "most dazzling chimpanzee", at least, it went to outer space and came back alive.
The experiment also proved a problem: mammals can also return safely after flying into outer space.
Hamm has a problem, and the "Space Race" reaches new heights
The fierce "space race" will never end because a chimpanzee flew into outer space.
The United States was also quick to announce that they had sent a primate into outer space.
The Soviets also pointedly pointed out that Hamm's flight was only in suborbital orbit.
This means that this is not a real outer space flight, just a circle outside.
On April 12, 1961, the former Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin flew into space in the "Vostok 1", becoming the first human to fly into space.
Ever since the moment Gagarin went into space, the Americans knew they were behind again.
A month later, American pilot Alan Shepard, who had learned from his experience, was also sent into space, becoming the first astronaut in U.S. history to go into space.
This time, the United States did not show too much excitement, because the speed at which they flew into space fell behind the Soviet Union.
They decided to come first and announced that they would land on the moon within 10 years, which also meant that they would face a series of major problems such as spacewalks and rendezvous and docking.
In 1962, President Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University: Space deserves the best efforts of all mankind to conquer, and we decided to land on the moon.
Before the moon landing, no one dared to imagine that people all over the world had their own fantasies about the moon.
In the process of daily training, American astronauts often joke about the chimpanzee Hamm, for example, when astronauts come out of the water and vent their depressed mood, the person next to them will say: "Shut up, give me a banana." ”
For a while, there are often a lot of fresh bananas in the office, which is also a way for everyone to laugh at themselves to relieve stress.
Beginning in 1962, geologists led the astronauts to a variety of inhospitable, complex terrain to collect specimens and map geology, and the training continued until 1972.
At this time, the Americans did not know whether the Soviet side had the ability to send astronauts to the moon, in order to avoid the embarrassing scene of the two astronauts stepping on the moon at the same time, American engineers also proposed to let the astronauts drive on the moon to investigate, which will become a new point of view.
After the death of three Apollo 1 astronauts, Neil Armstrong successfully set foot on the moon on Apollo 11, and the famous phrase "one small step for individuals, one big step for mankind" still reveals great power today.
He walked for two and a half hours on the lunar surface.
From July 1969 to December 1972, 12 astronauts landed on the moon aboard the Apollo spacecraft, and after that, the United States did not land on the moon.
After humans accomplished this feat, many turned their attention back to the chimpanzee that had traveled in space.
At first, Ham the chimpanzee didn't seem to be in any serious trouble, and he was placed in a zoo and enjoyed the same star-like treatment.
However, after the orangutan returned from outer space, the heart beat was very strong, the normal chimpanzee lifespan is about 40 years, and the "hero Ham" only lived for 25 years under the careful care of the zoo.
People noticed something was wrong, but it was too late for anything to reverse Hamm's life.
This may also mean, to some extent, that the environment in space is indeed not suitable for the survival of life, and later, with the development of science and technology, the relevant preparations are more and more adequate, but no one can guarantee that the accident or the danger will come sooner.
The job of astronaut seems to be full of applause and flowers, but the great unknown still tests them.
From the direction of the human community, the chimpanzee Hamm is the hero, Gagarin is the hero, and Armstrong is also the hero.
reference
ZHAO Yang. The history of human spacewalking: pioneers are chimpanzees[J].
LIU Jinjun. Chimpanzee astronaut's "small step in space"[J].Military Digest