Miss Able
American rhesus monkey sent to space (1957–1959)
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(Miss) Able (December 1957 – June 1, 1959) was a female rhesus monkey who, together with the squirrel monkey Miss Baker, was the first primate to survive space flight. They took off on May 28, 1959, on the Jupiter AM-18 mission from Launch Complex 26 at Cape Canaveral AFS, reached a peak altitude of 480 km, and splashed down 16 minutes later, 2,400 km away in the sea off Puerto Rico, where they were recovered by the USS Kiowa.[1] Shortly afterwards, she died during an operation to remove an implanted electrode. After her death, Able was stuffed and has since been part of the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.. Her skeleton is in the collection of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Unlike their predecessors in American space flight, both were anthropomorphized and stylized as heroes. Able is one of the Smithsonian exhibits that comes to life in the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.[2][3]
Miss Able | |
|---|---|
Able before the spaceflight | |
| Born | December , 1957 Independence, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | June 1, 1959 (aged 1) |
| Resting place | National Air and Space Museum |
| Other names | Able |
| Space career | |
| U.S. Army space pioneer | |
Time in space | 16 minutes |
| Missions | Jupiter AM-18 |
Life
Able was bred at a pet shop in Independence, Kansas. She was selected for the flight just two weeks before launch as a replacement for a wild-caught animal from India, as US President Eisenhower feared that this would strain relations with India. While Miss Baker was the US Navy's contribution to the mission, Able was selected by the US Army. Able's space suit was custom-made, consisting of a suit, a fiberglass helmet, and a small chair with a large back plate, which was custom-made based on a plaster model of a rhesus monkey. During the flight, Able was almost completely immobilized in the contraption. Her task was to press a button whenever a red light came on, which was supposed to trigger a radio pulse. None of these pulses could be recorded during the flight, officially due to a telemetry error, but rumour has it that this was attributed to Able's short training phase after the monkey exchange.[4]
After she and Miss Baker were selected for the flight, they were first named after the first two Greek letters, Alpha and Beta, and later, to better correspond to the usage of the US armed forces, after the first two letters of the US military spelling alphabet at the time.[5]
The flight and death
Both monkeys survived the actual space flight with a few minor cuts and abrasions from their helmets, but otherwise in good health. During the surgical removal of an implanted EEG electrode, complications arose due to the anesthesia, leading to respiratory arrest and, after 2.5 hours of intensive rescue efforts, ultimately death. However, the cause of death could not be determined.
| Measurement | Experiment 2A – Baker | Experiment 2B – Able |
|---|---|---|
| species | squirrel monkey | rhesus monkey |
| weight | 1 pound (0.45 kg) | 7 pounds (3.2 kg) |
| flight prep time | 8 hours | 3 days |
| electrocardiogram | Yes | problems |
| electromyogram, extensor | No | Yes |
| electromyogram, flexor | No | Yes |
| heart sounds | No | Yes |
| pulse velocity, femoral vs carotid | No | problems |
| respiratory rate | Yes | Yes |
| body temperature | Yes | Yes |
| ambient temperature | Yes | Yes |
| ambient capsule pressure | Yes | Yes |
| relative humidity | No | problems |
| percent carbon dioxide | No | Yes |
| monitor electric shock | No | problems |
| monitor lever response | No | problems |
| monitor light stimulus | No | Yes |
| monitor camera | No | Yes |
| emulsion plates for heavy nuclei of cosmic origin | Yes | Yes |
Legacy
Able and Miss Baker quickly became media stars. Two weeks after the flight, their flight was the cover story and they were on the cover of Life magazine. The attempts to revive Able were depicted in four large-format pages. She was embalmed and her body was positioned in a way that evoked a classic American patriotic gesture, a hand-over-the-heart salute.[8]
This is further emphasized by the lighting in the National Air and Space Museum exhibition, where her preserved body can still be viewed today. A slightly altered and revived version of Able, she becomes a male and a capuchin monkey, plays a role in the film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The gender change serves the purpose of making the monkey appear more patriotic.[2][9]
