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T O P I C R E V I E WColinBurgessDoes anyone have any reliable information as to what happened to the body of the chimp Enos after he died, a few months after his space flight? No one seems to know (including his handler Ed Dittmer), and the folks out at the Space Museum in Alamogordo where Ham is buried say they have no information on this. It's more than just a casual question - I'm asking for the book that Chris Dubbs and I are writing on the history of animal space flights,so any verifiable assistance would be greatly appreciated.ColindtempleColin, I would have sworn I read somewhere the location of Enos' burial site, but don't recall the the publication. Perhaps I am wrong, but my impression is that Enos was buried somewhere around Holloman. I know that isn't much help. By the way, according to the book, "Animal Astronauts" Enos died on November 4, 1962, just a few weeks short of one year after his flight aboard MA-5. He died of Shigella dysentery at Holloman AFB after being ill for two months. Do you have a copy of this book?ColinBurgessHi Dave,Yes, I have that book. It's still quite a nice read after all this time. The chimp buried at Holloman is actually Ham. There were also rumours that the last of the original "space chimps" Minnie was buried beside him, but this has now been dispelled by a curator at the museum. I have a sad feeling that Enos's remains were simply disposed of, although some organs would have been retained for post-mortem examination.ColinKen HavekotteColin--Did you get your answer about Enos? If not, let me recheck my numerous "animals in space" files and related sources. By the way, Colin, why not plan a visit to Florida's Space Coast? You are more than welcome to view my papers, files, etc. along with other possible museum/historical offices for research, if still needed, for your upcoming book. There were so many animal space-related projects that space buffs know very little (or practically nothing) about after the post WWII period. For instance, a trained chimpanzee spent more than 8 days in a capsule under space environment conditions that has provided Air Force scientists with important data about life in outer space. The test was conducted in a USAF vacuum chamber at the old Lockheed Missiles & Space Comnpany at Sunnyvale, CA, in 1963. In another series of carefully controlled Air Force experiments at Holloman AFB, NM, chimps have demonstrated since 1964 they can survive rapid decompression to the near vacuum of 150,000 feet for three-and-a-half minutes without any noticeable residual effects after a possible 4-hour recovery time. In 1964, at Santa Monica, CA, a chimp with miniature electrodes implaneted in its brain was tested for prolonged weightlessness before human astronauts made spaceflights of a month or longer. There was even a serious plan, proposed by Douglas Missile & Space Systems Division and the Brain Institute of UCLA, to orbit a chimp for as long as a month! Besides all the monkeys, Colin, there are so many other animal projects (i.e. mice, rats, chicken eggs, insects, bears--yes, even black bears, and so much more). ColinBurgessHi Ken,I'll contact you off-group to discuss all of this.ColinmensaxI would have loved to have seen them trying to get a black bear in a Mercury capsule!NoahColinBurgessI'd have been a bit grizzly myself!ColinBurgessKen, I'm not too sure if my e-mail got through to you.ColinJohn GrazulisHi Colin, I happened across your post recently and was pleased to hear about you and Chis Dubbs working on a new book about animals in space. Im very interested in the history of space having followed the program since the 1950s. Like some the other posters I also collect items and articles on the early animal exploits. I have several newspaper articles and front pages from that era that if you and Mr. Dubbs could use Id be happy to share with you. There are some very good articles on the web written by David Bushnell for NASA as a historian. He decribes in great detail the "Moby Dick" balloon program and various other cosmoc ray studies. You can find it under"History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics" on Google. Good luck on the new book, I look foward to it!....JohnColinBurgessHi John,That's very kind of you. I have a busy day in front of me today, but I'll send you an off-forum message over the weekend.Many thanks,Colin
Colin
Yes, I have that book. It's still quite a nice read after all this time. The chimp buried at Holloman is actually Ham. There were also rumours that the last of the original "space chimps" Minnie was buried beside him, but this has now been dispelled by a curator at the museum. I have a sad feeling that Enos's remains were simply disposed of, although some organs would have been retained for post-mortem examination.
I'll contact you off-group to discuss all of this.
Noah
That's very kind of you. I have a busy day in front of me today, but I'll send you an off-forum message over the weekend.
Many thanks,
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