Russian Monkeys to Mars Options

[tedstryk]

Zond-5 and Zond-6 were both partial successes. Zond-5's biological experiments suceeded, Zond-6 partially depressurized and then crashed, killing all the creatures on board. However, Zond-5's camera failed after some test photography of earth, while Zond-6 succeeded in photographing the moon (and most of the film survived the crash).

[GregM]

(with all respects to Chuck Heston)

the first words spoken by humans on Mars in 40 years or so:

"Get your hands off of me, you damn dirty ape!"



On a more serious note, doing the Laika thing in this enlightened age would be nothing but a PR nightmare of the highest proportions.
Wwaaayyy to much vodka consumed the night they dreamed up that one.

[Greg Hullender]

Nobody ever sent monkeys to the Moon AFAIK. There was, however, a circumlunar flight of tortoises.

That must have been around the same time NASA was putting cows in orbit. The "Herd shot 'round the world."

--Greg :-)

[imipak]

That must have been around the same time NASA was putting cows in orbit.

No no, I'm fine, it's just a touch of toothache...

[Holder of the Tw...]

Zond-5 and Zond-6 were both partial successes.

But you're forgetting the real purpose of these probes. They were to test out the Soyuz circumlunar manned missions. From that point of view, Zond 5 was an almost complete success (the cosmonauts would have lived to tell the tale) and Zond 6 was... otherwise.

[David]

The Russians should have erected a monument to the turtles: those fine examples of Testudo sovietica beat the Americans to the Moon by 3 months!

[Shaka]

Tortoises of the Moon, UNITE!

[Holder of the Tw...]

The article mentioned that 40 monkeys would be selected for studies, but nowhere did it say how many might be sent to Mars.

As an appropriate number, I would guess that the Russians might send ...

12.

[lyford]

With all this talk of tortoises in space, is anyone else thinking of Discworld?

(BTW, Doug, did you get to see Colour of Magic on SkyOne? Those of us across the pond are mighty jealous!)

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

A few days ago I visited the Alamogordo museum of space history in New Mexico ( with the John Stapp air & space park ) and visited the grave stone of NASA's first space monkey HAM ( acronym for Holloman Aero Med ). I didn't realize HAM was buried at that site ( born in 1955 Cameroon, died in 1983 North Carolina Zoological Park ).

[nprev]

Didn't know poor old Ham was there now. I used to go out to Alamading-dong (Holloman AFB, actually) quite a bit during the late '80s...would have paid my respects.

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

The stories of both HAM and ENOS became a bit morbid after the astrochimps died. When HAM died at the National Zoological Park in Washington DC in January 1983, his body was turned over to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, where the carcass was photographed and necropsied. It looks like that the skin was given to the Aerospace Museum in Washington DC for a mounted specimen and that the remainder of the carcass was given for burial at the International Space Hall of Fame at Alamogordo, more precise at the foot of the flag poles. It was John Stapp who dedicated the small memorial garden and bronze plaque during the burial ceremony in New Mexico…
More info in:
Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle
Series: Springer Praxis Books
Subseries: Space Exploration
Burgess, Colin, Dubbs, Chris
2007, Approx. 350 p., 160 illus., Softcover.
ISBN: 0-387-36053-0

[nprev]

I am glad that Ham has a memorial of some sort, in any case. Current research seems to indicate that chimps & hominids diverged evolutionarily not that long ago, and they are very self-aware creatures. It is proper to honor them.

[PFK]

I guess if one of them does make it to that new world first, then it could claim to be a 21st century Christopher Colobus

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

Well, here's the movie: http://www.spacechimpspower.com/