Ham, a male chimpanzee born in July 1957 in French Cameroon, became a pivotal figure in early space exploration. Captured by animal trappers, he was brought to the United States and purchased by the U.S. Air Force, arriving at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico in 1959. There, Ham was selected from a group of 40 chimpanzees to participate in Project Mercury, NASA’s initiative to send humans into space. Over a 15-month period, he underwent 219 hours of rigorous training, learning to perform tasks in response to visual stimuli, which tested his ability to operate in the space environment.On January 31, 1961, Ham was launched aboard the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida. During the 16-minute and 39-second suborbital flight, he successfully performed his tasks, demonstrating that humans could maintain cognitive function during space travel. Despite a partial loss of cabin pressure, Ham’s spacesuit kept him safe, and he was recovered in good condition by the USS Donner in the Atlantic Ocean. His mission was a crucial step toward the subsequent manned spaceflights of the Mercury program, paving the way for Alan Shepard’s historic flight three months later.After his mission, Ham lived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., for 17 years before moving to the North Carolina Zoo in 1980. He passed away on January 19, 1983, at the age of 25. Ham’s remains were buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico, honoring his contribution to space exploration.