Ham the Chimpanzee Reaches for an Apple

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Description

This photograph shows Ham after landing safely inside a Mercury capsule. The original caption reads: Ham reaches out from his couch to take an apple from a crewman of the USS Donner. This was the first food for the chimpanzee following a 430 mile ride in a Mercury capsule launched by a Redstone rocket from Cape Canaveral Jan. 31, 1961.

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.

National Archives Identifier: 7038095

Full Citation: Photograph of Ham the Chimpanzee Reaching for an Apple after Landing Safely inside a Mercury Capsule; 1/31/1961; (SEN 89A-F1); Committee Papers, 1958 – 1976; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/ham-chimpanzee-apple/, April 7, 2026]

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