Chimps in Space!

Today is Friday so that means another blog post is in order. It’s snowing outside and I’m curled up getting ready to watch one of my all-time favorite movies, Race to Space. The movie is a fictionalized version of the story of Ham the Astro-chimp, the first chimpanzee in space from the US. I thought that perhaps you might enjoy hearing about the story of Ham and a short summary of the movie, so that if some cold winter night you are in need of a good movie you will have a great one.

Ham

Ham getting ready for his flight
Courtesy ofcr.nps.gov

Ham was born in 1956. He was part of a group of sixty chimps that were part of a testing group to find one to send to space. He trained for his flight to space at the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico. That is where he got his name (Holloman Aerospace Medical). Ham was a part of Project Mercury which was a part of the proceedings of the Cold War in which the US was determined to get a human in orbit before the Soviet Union.

Mercury-Redstone rocket like what Ham flew on
Courtesy of nasa.gov

Ham flew on a Redstone rocket, which was designed just for Project Mercury. His successful mission was a reason as to why Alan Shepard was then able to become the first United States citizen in space. To learn more about Ham click here.

Race to Space

My beloved copy of the movie
Photo by me

Race To Space is an adaptation of the story of Ham’s journey to space and back. Instead of Ham, the chimpanzee is named Mac. Mac lives in at the NASA base in Cape Canaveral, Florida. He is being trained by Dr. Donni McGuiness (Annabeth Gish). Billy Von Huber (Alex Linz) is living in Florida with his dad, Wilhelm Von Huber, (James Woods) who is a German rocket scientist working on Project Mercury. Billy develops a close relationship with Mac after he begins to help with his training. Soon though, Billy uncovers a sinister plot set to ruin the project. I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, so I am just going to say that it is very, very good. It’s also very, very funny and very, very, VERY, much worth renting or, dare I say it, buying.

Also, to you music lovers out there, the soundtrack for the movie is absolutely amazing! After hearing it while I watch the movie I always feel like I could go out and do ANYTHING!

Here is a link to the trailer of the movie: 

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/race_to_space/trailers/10896313/

So, if you are ever in need of a good family movie to watch and you want to learn more about Ham and the first trips to space, just watch Race to Space. It will work for science geeks, music lovers, people who love to laugh, and those who just want a nice heartfelt movie.