Sam, a rhesus monkey who, on December 4, 1959, flew on the Little Joe 2 in the Mercury program to 53 miles high. The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule, and Sam was sent to test the adverse effects of space on humans. The monkey returned

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Sam, a rhesus monkey who, on December 4, 1959, flew on the Little Joe 2 in the Mercury program to 53 miles high. The Little Joe 2 was a test of the Mercury space capsule, and Sam was sent to test the adverse effects of space on humans. The monkey returned to earth intact with no ill effects, after a flight time of 11 minutes and 6 seconds.

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Size: 2800px × 4164px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1950s, 2, 4, 1959, 20th, 4th, american, animal, bw, capsule, century, december, flight, historic, historical, history, joe, macaca, manned, mercury, monkey, mulatta, photo, photograph, pioneer, primate, program, race, rhesus, sam, science, space, spaceflight, testing, travel