page_title: Little Joe 2
hierarchical_section_title: Little Joe 2
caption_attribution_description: English: The test subject, a rhesus monkey named Sam, is seen encased in a model of the Mercury fiberglass contour couch. He will be flown on the Little Joe 2 as a test subject.
context_page_description: The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.
  The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. Little Joe 2 flew to an altitude of 55 miles. It was recovered, with the monkey intact, in the Atlantic Ocean by USS Borie. Sam was one of a series of monkeys in space. Sam, from the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, received his name as an acronym of the facility. Sam experienced up to 12Gs and three minutes of weightlessnes. The flight time was 11 minutes, 6 seconds, with a payload of 1,007 kg.
  The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Little Joe 2 mission is currently displayed at Airpower Park and Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
context_section_description: The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule, carrying the rhesus monkey Sam (Macaca mulatta) close to the edge of space. He was sent to test the space equipment and the adverse effects of space on humans.
  The flight was launched December 4, 1959, at 11:15 a.m. ET from Wallops Island, Virginia, United States. Little Joe 2 flew to an altitude of 55 miles (88 km). It was recovered, with the monkey intact, in the Atlantic Ocean by USS Borie. Sam was one of a series of monkeys in space. Sam, from the School of Aviation Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, received his name as an acronym of the facility. Sam experienced up to 12Gs and three minutes of weightlessnes.  The flight time was 11 minutes, 6 seconds, with a payload of 1,007 kg.
  The boilerplate Mercury spacecraft used in the Little Joe 2 mission is currently displayed at Airpower Park and Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
caption: Sam, the rhesus monkey flown aboard Little Joe 2
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72009/1000", "Image YResolution": "72009/1000", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop", "Image DateTime": "2016:02:23 14:30:13", "Image ExifOffset": "150", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "398", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "443"}