when was ham the chimp born
Mercury Primate Capsule and Ham the Astrochimp. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. However, three months earlier NASA had launched âNumber 65â on a mission that helped pave the way for Shephardâs momentous flight. Number 65 was a male chimpanzee born in 1957 in the French Cameroons in West Africa. After being captured by trappers, he was sent to a rare bird farm in Florida. In 1959, he was sold to the U.S. Air Force, who sent him to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.