Here's a look at the significance of sending animals to space

"Jan. 31 marks the day Ham, a chimpanzee, was launched into sub-orbital space in a Mercury capsule aboard a Redstone rocket to become the first great ape in space. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. However, three months earlier NASA had launched Number 65 on a mission that helped pave the way for Shephard's momentous flight."

"Number 65 was a male chimpanzee born in 1957 in the French Cameroons in West Africa. After being captured by trappers, he was sent to a rare bird farm in Florida. In 1959, he was sold to the U.S. Air Force, who sent him to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. There he would take part in training to become an astrochimp."

"The original flight plan called for an altitude of 115 miles and speeds ranging up to 4,400 mph. However, due to technical problems, the spacecraft carrying Ham reached an altitude of 157 miles and a speed of 5,857 mph and landed 422 miles downrange rather than the anticipated 290 miles. Ham experienced a total of 6.6 minutes of weightlessness during a 16.5-minute flight."

Ham (Number 65) was born in 1957 in the French Cameroons, captured and sent to Florida, then sold to the U.S. Air Force in 1959 for space training at Holloman Air Force Base. Handlers trained Ham to perform a timed lever task using light shocks for failure and banana pellets for success. The MR-2 flight exceeded planned altitude and speed due to technical problems, producing 6.6 minutes of weightlessness during a 16.5-minute flight and landing farther downrange than expected. The flight demonstrated survivability of a ballistic mission despite malfunctions, helped pave the way for a later manned flight, and produced widespread public fame; Ham lived at the Smithsonian National Zoo until 1980.

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