Monkeys in spaceIn 1959, rhesus monkey Ableand squirrel monkey Baker, both female, were launched for a brief suborbital space flight in the nose cone of Jupiter Missile AM-18. They reached 300 miles altitude, and travelled 1500 miles at speeds over 10,000 mph. Heart rate and sounds, body temperature, blood pressure and radiation were monitored, plus muscle performance by electromyogram. The monkeys survived the flight and splashdown, and became the first living beings successfully recovered alive after spaceflight. Able diedshortly afterwards, caused by the anesthesia, as doctors prepared to remove an electrode from under her skin. Baker lived to age 27, and died of kidney failure in 1984.« |