Enos (chimpanzee)

Enos

Enos, the only chimpanzee and third primate to orbit the Earth
Species	Chimpanzee
Sex	Male
Born	1957 (1957)
Died	November 4, 1962(1962-11-04) (aged 4–5)
Employer	NASA
Notable role	Only chimpanzee to achieve Earth orbit
Years active	1960–1962

Enos being prepared for insertion into the Mercury-Atlas 5 capsule in 1961.

Enos’ space capsule during the Mercury-Atlas 5 mission, on display at the Museum of Life and Science, in Durham, North Carolina

Enos (born about 1957 – died November 4, 1962) was a chimpanzee launched into space by NASA, following his predecessor Ham. He was the only chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and the third hominid to do so after cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov. Enos's flight occurred on November 29, 1961.

Enos was brought from the Miami Rare Bird Farm on April 3, 1960. He completed more than 1,250 training hours at the University of Kentucky and Holloman Air Force Base. Training was more intense for him than for Ham, who had become the first great ape in space in January 1961, because Enos was exposed to weightlessness and higher gs for longer periods of time. His training included psychomotor instruction and aircraft flights.

Enos was selected for his Project Mercury flight only three days before launch. Two months prior, NASA launched Mercury-Atlas 4 on September 13, 1961, to conduct an identical mission with a "crewman simulator" on board. Enos flew into space aboard Mercury-Atlas 5 on November 29, 1961. He completed his first orbit in 1 hour and 28.5 minutes.

Enos was scheduled to complete three orbits, but the mission was aborted after two, due to two issues: capsule overheating and a malfunctioning "avoidance conditioning" test subjecting the primate to 76 electrical shocks. According to one history of primatology, "The chimpanzee, about five years old, behaved like a true hero: despite the malfunctions of the electronic system, he conscientiously performed all the tasks he had learned during the entire flight of over three hours...Enos demonstrated that he was careful to successfully complete his mission and that he perfectly understood what was expected of him."

After his space capsule made an ocean landing, Enos "had become angry and frustrated at the three-hour wait" before being retrieved by U.S. Navy seamen.

The capsule was brought aboard USS Stormes in the late afternoon and Enos was immediately taken below deck by his Air Force handlers. Stormes then dropped Enos at the Kindley US Air Force Base hospital in Bermuda, where he was found to be in good shape. On December 1, 1961 Enos left Bermuda for Cape Canaveral, and eventually Holloman Air Force Base.

Enos's flight was a full dress rehearsal for the next Mercury launch on February 20, 1962, which would make John Glenn the first American to orbit Earth.

On November 4, 1962, Enos died of shigellosis-related dysentery, which was resistant to then-known antibiotics. He was constantly observed for two months before his death. Pathologists reported no symptoms that could be attributed or related to his previous space flight.

See also

• Monkeys and apes in space
• Albert II, first monkey and first primate in space
• Little Joe 2 flight with Sam, Project Mercury rhesus monkey
• Animals in space
• List of individual apes
• One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps: (2008 documentary)
• Félicette: First cat in space

External links

• Enos the Chimpanzee travels to space on NASA's Mercury Atlas 5 1960, YouTube video
• "Voyage of space chimpanzee Enos ended in Bermuda" by Gail Westerfield
• A film clip Chimp into space (no title), 1961/11/30 (1961) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• A film clip documenting Enos take-off and landing is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps, documentary on history of chimpanzees used in space travel
• [1] Atlantic.com article about electrical shocks
• [2] MentalFloss.com on 54th anniversary of flight