Ham the chimpanzee in his space suit in the nose cone of the Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket that took him on a 1,500 mile journey in 1961.

Ham the chimpanzee in his space suit in the nose cone of the Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket that took him on a 1,500 mile journey in 1961.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of humans landing on the moon (July 20, 1969), let’s remember the decades of animals in space that led to this tremendous accomplishment.

The first primates to travel to space and return to Earth alive were monkeys: Able, a rhesus monkey and Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, who successfully made the trip on May 28, 1959.

40 years ago the first multi-day monkey flight began. Bonnie, a pig-tailed macaque, flew on Biosatellite 3 from June 28 through July 8. The mission was supposed to last 30 days, but was cut short due to Bonnie’s deteriorating health. Bonnie died soon after landing.

The first animals intentionally sent into space? The United States launched fruit flies aboard a V2 rocket in 1947. The flies were recovered alive.