Landing on the moon and flying into space carries the dream of mankind for thousands of years. How much effort did scientists make to this before humans landed on the moon? As early as 61 years ago, the United States successfully sent a chimpanzee to the moon and returned it to Earth alive. What happened to the chimpanzee that survived the first moon landing, and the chimpanzee that returned to Earth had a miserable ending?
The United States' "Chimpanzee Project"
When The chimpanzee Ham was born, the Two Great Powers of the United States and the Soviet Union were still in the Cold War, and neither of them was subservient to the secret rivalry. Everyone has set their sights on the field of space that has never been involved, and who can enter space first will naturally prove that its comprehensive strength is stronger. Who will the title of the first great power be spent on?
On a silent night on October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite into space. At this time, the United States was a bit unable to sit still and accelerated the process of space research and development. No human has ever set foot in space, and they want to be the first to eat crabs. However, it takes a lot of effort for a country to cultivate an astronaut, and no one can guarantee the outcome. Experimenting with people is undoubtedly too risky, and no one dares to do such a bold experiment.
Scientists in the United States have come up with the bold idea that chimpanzees are the primates most similar to humans. If the chimpanzee experiment is used, and the chimpanzees can successfully enter space and can come back alive, it proves that humans can also enter space. When all was said and done, they carefully selected 40 chimpanzees for training, and Ham was one of them. The "chimpanzee project" began from this moment.
Hamm, the first orangutan to sail into space
40 chimpanzees, driven by a group of U.S. Air Forces, were taken to an unfamiliar zone. Their eyes were blank, and they didn't know what they were carrying. 40 chimpanzees, who have to participate in high-intensity training every day, will be rewarded with a banana or an apple if they perform well; if they don't behave well and fail to complete the task according to the instructions, they will be punished.
Gradually, chimpanzees were eliminated one after another. The best performer, and ham the chimpanzee who stayed last was also one of them. After 2 and a half years of training, Hamm has been able to complete all the instructions very well, and he knows that as long as he does it right, he can get rewarded.
On January 31, 1961, Hamm was not trained, but was taken to an unfamiliar place. But Hamm was not timid, and after a long period of training, he was able to face these changes calmly.
Hamm was sent into a narrow confined space, and after the hatch closed, the spacecraft flew rapidly with a loud bang and sailed into the vast space. The people on the ground looked at this scene and couldn't help but applaud. It was a great experiment that carried the hopes of spaceflight for many years. The eyes of the ground staff have hardly left the detection hollow of the spacecraft, and everyone is excited to watch the spacecraft approach the atmosphere little by little, rush out of the atmosphere and sail into space.
The spacecraft is 252 kilometers above the ground and flies at high speed for up to 16 minutes. However, things did not go as smoothly as expected, and the spacecraft detected a data anomaly after 16 minutes of leaving the ground and flying in outer space. Start falling down and eventually fall in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. Then, everyone immediately began searching and rescuing, waiting for the final result, all hoping that it was still alive, the most successful experiment in decades.
In fact, using animals as experiments to enter space is not the first case. In recent decades, there have been many examples of experiments with monkeys, chimpanzees, and mammals. Compared with mammals, scientists prefer to experiment with monkeys or chimpanzees because primates are closest to humans. So far, a total of 34 chimpanzees and monkeys have participated in space experiments.
On June 11, 1948, the macaque (Albert 1) took off on an immature rocket, and the rapidly rising air became thinner and thinner, and the monkey died rapidly in fright and lack of oxygen before he could rush out of the earth. In 1949, macaques (Albert III) were hit by a rocket explosion during flight, leaving no bones. There are countless examples of this, but unfortunately the end is death. Hamm was the first humanoid to successfully enter space, and it was crucial to return to Earth to survive the outcome.
Hamm Chimpanzee returned to Earth and found something was wrong
After a series of urgent searches, the chimpanzee's return capsule was successfully found. When the return capsule was opened, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still alive. As usual, the staff immediately gave Hamm a banana as a reward, and this time it did a good job. After returning to Earth, Hamm suddenly became a "star" in the hearts of the people of the whole country, and the scenery was infinite for a while.
Space and Earth can be said to be very different, has Hamm entered space any physical problems? There is a lot of radiation in space and it is in a state of micro-weightlessness. The protective measures at that time were not mature enough, and it was obviously impossible to say that it had no effect on its body. The radiation in space is particularly strong and cannot be compared to Earth. According to years of scientific data, animals that have been to space will suffer from muscle atrophy, impaired reproductive ability, osteoporosis and other problems.
The chimpanzee who participated in the experiment basically had a miserable result, either continuing to use the experiment until it died, or locking up in a cage and waiting for death. After years of being called by multiple organizations, the chimpanzees who participated in the experiment finally had a relatively better ending and were sent to an orangutan nursing home for the rest of their lives.
Back on Earth, Hamm didn't seem to have any problems at first. Hamm was sent to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to enjoy the rest of his life. As time went on, everyone felt that Hamm was not quite right. First, the doctors detected that Hamm's heartbeat was different from that of healthy chimpanzees, which beat much faster than other chimpanzees.
Everyone speculates that this may be a "sequelae" after returning from space. A short journey through space quietly changed Hamm's body, and the lifespan of ordinary chimpanzees is about 50 years, while Hamm eventually only lived for 25 years, which is half the lifespan of ordinary orangutans! The act of experimenting with animals is a profiteer for humans, but how can animals not be innocent?
Although Hamm's incident has made humanity take the first step into space, it has also allowed us to see more unknown dangers in space. Although our astronauts were able to land on the moon and be able to step onto the space station, living in space could have a big impact on the body. After learning the story of Ham the chimpanzee, I feel that our astronauts are the heroes of the country and the heroes of the people, and pay tribute to them!
Resources:
History of human spacewalking: the pioneer is chimpanzee - Zhao Yang Science Grand View Garden
Chimpanzee astronaut's "small step in space" - Liu Jinjun Military Digest
Author: Yijun Editor: Li Zi