Ham the Astrochimp's final resting place (photos)

Nerdy New Mexico's pilgrimage to honor Ham the Astrochimp leads to his nondescript grave marker at the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Amanda Kooser

April 20, 2012 10:42 a.m. PT

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Statue of Ham the Astrochimp

This life-size sculpture of Ham the Astrochimp at the New Mexico Museum of Space History honors the first chimpanzee in outer space. Ham was launched into orbit in a Mercury module in 1961, before NASA sent humans into space.

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Ham the Astrochimp's grave marker

This is the wide view of Ham the Astrochimp's grave in front of the flagpoles at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Visitors still occasionally leave flowers and bananas at the marker.

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Chimpanzee restraint suit

Ham the Astrochimp wore a restraint suit very similar to this one. He was then placed inside a fiberglass container called a primate capsule, which was set into a Mercury module and rocketed into space. Ham spent seven minutes as a weightless chimp before returning to Earth.

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Mercury modules carried chimp, humans

The New Mexico Museum of Space History features a Mercury module that visitors can climb into. A module like this one carried Ham the Astrochimp into space in 1961. Later, these modules took humans up. Ham was proof that primates could survive the journey.

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Little Joe II is a big rocket

Ham the Astrochimp is buried near an outdoor rocket park at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. This nearly 90-foot beast named Little Joe II was powered by up to nine rocket motors with a combined thrust of 860,000 pounds. It was used to test the Apollo launch escape system.

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F-1 rocket engine packs a wallop

Not far from Ham the Astrochimp sits this F-1 rocket engine, the most powerful single chamber, liquid-fuel rocket engine ever flown. It's one of many outdoor attractions at the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

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Moon rock

Ham the Astrochimp didn't make it as far as the moon, but thanks to his pioneering work, humans eventually did. This moon rock is on display at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, encased in a clear pyramid. It was collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

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New Mexico Museum of Space History

The New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo features four floors full of spacesuits and equipment from the history of space exploration. It is also the final resting place for Ham the Astrochimp, the first chimpanzee in outer space.