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Author
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Topic: Skeletons and remains of the space monkeys
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micropooz
Member Posts: 1512
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 01-28-2006 07:12 PM
   
The Washington Post on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Style section, ran a story about the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, DC. Mentioned was the fact that the skeletons of space monkeys Able and Ham are in the collection (not on display) of the museum along with pics of each. Able's body has been stuffed and is on display, strapped into his couch, at the National Air and Space Museum. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-28-2006 08:07 PM
Dwayne Day sent me this article a few days back and I quickly got in touch with the lady featured in it, Lenore Barbian, to ask if she knew anything about what might have happened to Enos's remains after he'd died. Unfortunately, she said they had nothing of Enos there, and so this little mystery continues. |
Ben
Member Posts: 1896
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: May 2000
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posted 01-28-2006 09:26 PM
When I saw Able at the National Air and Space Museum and read the label it took a minute or two to realize it was him. It doesn't explicitly say "this is Able, stuffed after death." But indeed it was. The label reads something like "Able, seen here, was strapped into the couch shown on that historic flight." |
Astro Bill
Member Posts: 1329
From: New York, NY
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-28-2006 09:26 PM
quote:
Originally posted by micropooz:
Inside the article was the fact that the skeletons of space monkeys Able and Ham...
According to the article "The Life and Times of No. 65 - Ham the Chimp" in the Sep-Oct 2005 issue of the Astrophile of the Space Unit: Chimpanzee Ham lived to be 27 years old... he died 19 Jan 1983. Ham's body was shipped to the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, NM, where he is buried in an honored spot near the entrance. Perhaps you mean Enos, Baker, or any of a number of other monkeys that gave their lives for the furtherance of the manned space program. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-28-2006 09:40 PM
A gory subject indeed, but everyone's correct. The skeletons of both Ham and Able are indeed stored in the museum, but not on public display. The other, non-skeletal remains of Ham are indeed buried in Alamogordo, while a taxidermist was responsible for stuffing the skin of Able, and that's what you'll see today on public display in the National Air and Space Museum. |
Astro Bill
Member Posts: 1329
From: New York, NY
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-28-2006 11:06 PM
Tuesday, Jan. 31 2006 will mark the 45th anniversary of the launch and recovery of Ham the chimp in a Mercury capsule. Perhaps it is time to give the skeleton of Ham a proper resting place at the National Space Hall of Fame with the remaining parts of his body. |
lb206
Member Posts: 48
From:
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 02-15-2006 12:22 PM
In case anyone is curious and doesn't already know, Baker is buried at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama where she had lived after her flight. The grave is near the front entrance to the museum. And every now and then people will leave a banana on the tombstone. |
Scott
Member Posts: 3307
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted 02-15-2006 01:41 PM
Ham's entry at Find A Grave. |
micropooz
Member Posts: 1512
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 02-15-2006 07:26 PM
Yup, been to Baker's grave several times, including just a month ago. Baker wasn't a volunteer, which makes her grave even more profound... |
DavidH
Member Posts: 1217
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 02-16-2006 09:31 AM
Baker's gravestone at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center:  |
Chris Dubbs
Member Posts: 145
From: Edinboro, PA USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 02-16-2006 06:21 PM
While doing research in the archives of the New Mexico Museum of Space History in 2005, I came across a memo from the Air Force Institute of Pathology to the Armed Forces Medical Museum, dated 24 March 1983. Subject: Processing the skeleton of "Ham." The processing of the skeleton of 'Ham' will require one of the following: a) Maceration by bacterial action, b) Maceration by chemical agent, c) Cleaning by Dermestid beetle colony. The memo goes on to recommend the use of the beetle colony at the Smithsonian Institution. After the beetles did their work on the soft tissue (one to two months), and the skeleton "aired" for a few days, it was to be returned to the Armed Forces Medical Museum. |
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