Ham: An American Hero

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Space travel became extremely important for the world during the early years of the Cold War. The space race was extremely important to the United States and the Soviet Union. It had always seemed that the United States of American were going to be the first to go to space; however, on October 4, 1957, Sputnik was launched into space by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union’s entry into space caused immense fear around the world, and further fueled America’s desire to enter space. After successfully launching artificial rockets, the focus then turned to getting humans into space. Due to the increasing interest in space travel, animals were utilized as experimental counterparts. Animals played a huge role in the cold war as the world’s most dominate countries were entering the space race. Animals were not sent into space as a stunt, but rather they were used to test if humans could survive the dangerous effects of space travel. Testing of animals was used to see if humans had the ability to function properly while they were in space. From the help of the animals used in space travel, the dreams of putting humans into outer space were made reality. America for example, relied heavily on the use of monkeys, rodents, fruit flies, and many other creatures. Most of the primates used were rhesus monkeys; however, chimpanzees were later introduced. Chimpanzees eventually began to be used more regularly since they are human’s closest relatives, sharing 98.6% of the same DNA. Some of the animals that were sent out to space would gain fame upon arrival. One of the most famous space chimps, as well as the first chimp to enter space, was known as Ham. Ham is an acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center. Holloman Aerospace Medi... ... middle of paper ... ...irst American in space, I like to remind them of a chimpanzee who beat him to it” (LIFE). Ham truly is an American hero that will never be forgotten. Works Cited "Chimp Hams it Up for Press, Spurns Couch." Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File): 3. Feb 04 1961. ProQuest. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. A Sun, Staff C. "SPACE CHIMP HAM RETURNS A HERO." The Sun (1837-1988): 1. Feb 02 1961. ProQuest. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Miles, Marvin. "SPACE CHIMP SURVIVES FLIGHT 155 MILES HIGH." Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File): 1. Feb 01 1961. ProQuest. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. "1961: Chimp Returns Safely after Space Flight." BBC News. BBC, 31 Jan. 1961. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. "LIFE With the Astrochimps: Early Stars of the Space Race." LIFE. Ed. Ben Cosgrove. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. "Their Story." One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps - Their Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

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