NASA's Space Monkeys (NASA)
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HUNTSVILLE, AL -
Fifty years ago today, two monkeys became the first astronauts to survive space flight.
On May 28, 1959, Able and Miss Baker returned safely home. The Jupiter AM-18 launched with Able, an American-born Rhesus monkey, and Miss Baker, a South American squirrel monkey, aboard.
Their flight was short, only 15 minutes, but the 300-mile trip was the first of its kind and paved the way for human exploration of space.
Able died not long after he returned, in surgery from the effects of anesthesia, but Miss Baker lived in Huntsville for many more years. She died of kidney failure in 1984, at age 27. She is buried at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.
Able and Miss Baker are just two of many animals NASA has sent to space.
On May 28, 1959, Able and Miss Baker returned safely home. The Jupiter AM-18 launched with Able, an American-born Rhesus monkey, and Miss Baker, a South American squirrel monkey, aboard.
Their flight was short, only 15 minutes, but the 300-mile trip was the first of its kind and paved the way for human exploration of space.
Able died not long after he returned, in surgery from the effects of anesthesia, but Miss Baker lived in Huntsville for many more years. She died of kidney failure in 1984, at age 27. She is buried at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.
Able and Miss Baker are just two of many animals NASA has sent to space.
