Animal astronautIn 1961, the first U.S. satellite carrying an animal was launched by Mercury-Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral. The passenger was Enos, a five-year-old chimpanzee, on a 2-orbit ride for 3-hr 20 min. The test was the prelude to John Glenn's orbital space flight. Enos experienced up to 7.6-G accelerative force during the launch. During the flight, Enos carried out the lever-pulling performance and psychological tests that he had trained on for the past 16-months. Enos performed the tasks well, and received a limited number of shocks for incorrect answers. Even when the input device failed and Enos received consecutive shocks even if the correct answer was given, the frustrated chimpanzee continued to give answers until the end of the flight.[Image: Enos wearing space suit and lying in Flight Couch] |
