Ham the astrochimp: hero or casualty of NASA?

Before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to space and stepped foot on the moon, a chimpanzee named Ham was the hero of the spaceflight. Just before Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight, Ham became the first primate in space. Ham and fellow “astrochimps” were trained to pull levers and prove it was physically possible to pilot the Project Mercury spacecraft. Ham is now buried in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Where we explored his final resting place and take you on a journey of the ups and downs of his life. So come along with us as we pay our respects to Ham the Astrochimp