Enos, The First Chimp in Orbit
Kansas Cosmosphere
Spacesuit and Schoolroom: Enos Couch
This is the couch the chimp Enos rode into orbit during the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission. The enclosed couch served the same protective function as the Mercury astronauts' silver space suit. If the Mercury capsule sprang a leak, the couch would provide Enos with life-sustaining oxygen.
The couch was also a "school room." Housed in its cover was a psychomotor apparatus that gave Enos four problems to solve. For example, Enos picked out the odd shape from a set of three shapes. If he failed, he received a mild electric shock. Another problem rewarded him with banana pellets. Completing the four problems earned him a rest, then the cycle repeated.
[Chimpanzee Enos, prior to launch onboard Mercury-Atlas 5, is shown hying in the flight couch (on display above), awaiting insertion into the spacecraft.]
Mercury-Atlas 5 in Orbit
On November 29, 1961, MA-5 was ready. Doctors gave 39-pound Enos a physical exam and strapped him into his couch. Five hours before launch, technicians loaded couch and chimp into the Mercury capsule. At 10:08 a.m., Enos lifted off. During his five-minute climb to orbit he experienced 7.6 gravities of acceleration. The Atlas rocket placed Enos into an orbit with a low point of 99 miles and a high point of 147 miles.
The first of three planned orbits was uneventful, then problems began. The psychomotor apparatus gave Enos shocks even when he correctly solved his problems, and a failed steering thruster allowed the capsule to drift. Then the life support system malfunctioned, sending the temperature climbing.
[Enos, the second chimpanzee to fly in space, is shown here with his handler]
An Early Return Paves The Way For Man Mission
Control decided to bring Enos home one orbit early. He experienced 7.8 gravities of acceleration during the flaming passage through the atmosphere. Splashdown was on target in the Atlantic. Four and a half hours after launch, Enos was safe on board the destroyer Stormes.
Had a human astronaut flown MA-5, the mission would probably have achieved its planned three orbits. An astronaut could’ve, for example, switched to manual control to solve the thruster problem. NASA was pleased with Enos's flight. At the MA-5 post-flight press conference, NASA officials announced that Mercury-Atlas 6 would launch John H. Glenn into orbit.
Enos, The First Chimp in Orbit
Kansas Cosmosphere
Spacesuit and Schoolroom: Enos Couch
This is the couch the chimp Enos rode into orbit during the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission. The enclosed couch served the same protective function as the Mercury astronauts' silver space suit. If the Mercury capsule sprang a leak, the couch would provide Enos with life-sustaining oxygen.
The couch was also a "school room." Housed in its cover was a psychomotor apparatus that gave Enos four problems to solve. For example, Enos picked out the odd shape from a set of three shapes. If he failed, he received a mild electric shock. Another problem rewarded him with banana pellets. Completing the four problems earned him a rest, then the cycle repeated.
[Chimpanzee Enos, prior to launch onboard Mercury-Atlas 5, is shown hying in the flight couch (on display above), awaiting insertion into the spacecraft.]
Mercury-Atlas 5 in Orbit
On November 29, 1961, MA-5 was ready. Doctors gave 39-pound Enos a physical exam and strapped him into his couch. Five hours before launch, technicians loaded couch and chimp into the Mercury capsule. At 10:08 a.m., Enos lifted off. During his five-minute climb to orbit he experienced 7.6 gravities of acceleration. The Atlas rocket placed Enos into an orbit with a low point of 99 miles and a high point of 147 miles.
The first of three planned orbits was uneventful, then problems began. The psychomotor apparatus gave Enos shocks even when he correctly solved his problems, and a failed steering thruster allowed the capsule to drift. Then the life support system malfunctioned, sending the temperature climbing.
[Enos, the second chimpanzee to fly in space, is shown here with his handler]
An Early Return Paves The Way For Man Mission
Control decided to bring Enos home one orbit early. He experienced 7.8 gravities of acceleration during the flaming passage through the atmosphere. Splashdown was on target in the Atlantic. Four and a half hours after launch, Enos was safe on board the destroyer Stormes.
Had a human astronaut flown MA-5, the mission would probably have achieved its planned three orbits. An astronaut could’ve, for example, switched to manual control to solve the thruster problem. NASA was pleased with Enos's flight. At the MA-5 post-flight press conference, NASA officials announced that Mercury-Atlas 6 would launch John H. Glenn into orbit.