Courtesy/NASA

NMMSH News:

ALAMOGORDO — America’s Astro chimp, HAM, and his fellow primate pilots are being remembered for their contributions to the US Space Race during Science Saturday, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Jan. 31, 2026, at the NM Museum of Space History (NMMSH).

HAM was launched 157 miles into space Jan. 31, 1961, paving the way for American Alan Shepard’s flight May 5, 1961, as well as Yuri Gagarin’s flight one month earlier.

To commemorate the accomplishment, NMMSH is partnering with the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce for HAM Day at the New Horizons Dome Theater & Planetarium. The event celebrates the anniversary of the flight and the role chimpanzees played in preparing the way for humans in space. After a short, kid-friendly overview of great apes and early space medicine, museum educators will lead hands-on, great-ape-themed crafts designed for all ages. Families are welcome to drop in at any time during the event, and all supplies are included. There will also be “ham and cheese wheels” to eat, and a homemade costume contest that will be judged by staff.

The name HAM comes from Holloman Aero Medical, where he was trained by Alamogordo resident Edward C. Dittmer Sr., who also suited up HAM and placed him in the Mercury Capsule perched on a Redstone rocket before the launch. Space scientists believed chimps had the intelligence and reasoning ability needed to test their theories about space travel for humans and whether their psychological abilities to perform in the vacuum of space would deteriorate during the flight. You can see one of the chimps’ space couches at NMMSH.

HAM is buried at the NM Museum of Space History in Alamogordo; his marker reads, “HAM proved mankind could live and work in space.”

Science Saturday is included with museum admission. For more information, call 575.437.2840 or visit www.nmspacemuseum.org.

About the New Mexico Museum of Space History:

The New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. A Smithsonian Affiliate, the museum showcases the significant role New Mexico has played in the development of the U.S. Space Program and features the International Space Hall of Fame, and New Horizons Dome Theater.