RELEASE: We�re HAMming it up at NM Museum of Space History in Alamogordo
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Hi Everyone,
Alamogordo, NM - America’s Astro chimp, HAM, and his fellow primate pilots are being remembered for their contributions to the US Space Race during Science Saturday, on January 31, 2026, at the NM Museum of Space History (NMMSH), from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. HAM was launched 157 miles into space on January 31, 1961, paving the way for American Alan Shepard’s flight on May 5, 1961, as well as Yuri Gagarin’s flight one month earlier.
To commemorate the accomplishment, NMMSH is partnering with the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce for HAM Day at the New Horizons Dome Theater & Planetarium. The event celebrates the anniversary of the flight and the role chimpanzees played in preparing the way for humans in space. After a short, kid-friendly overview of great apes and early space medicine, museum educators will lead hands-on, great-ape-themed crafts designed for all ages. Families are welcome to drop in at any time during the event, and all supplies are included. There will also be “ham and cheese wheels” to eat, and a homemade costume contest that will be judged by staff.
The name HAM comes from Holloman Aero Medical, where he was trained by Alamogordo resident Edward C. Dittmer Sr., who also suited up HAM and placed him in the Mercury Capsule perched on a Redstone rocket before the launch. Space scientists believed chimps had the intelligence and reasoning ability needed to test their theories about space travel for humans and whether their psychological abilities to perform in the vacuum of space would deteriorate during the flight. You can see one of the chimps’ space couches at NMMSH.
HAM is buried at the NM Museum of Space History in Alamogordo; his marker reads, “HAM proved mankind could live and work in space.”
Science Saturday is included with museum admission. For more information, call 575-437-2840 or visit www.nmspacemuseum.org .
Full Press Release Here
I f you would like to learn more, please contact me
Greg Gurule DCA Communications Manager greg.gurule@dca.nm.gov 505-469-9730
Copyright ©2025 New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. All rights reserved. Bataan Memorial Building | 407 Galisteo Street, Suite 260 | Santa Fe, NM 87501
The New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. A Smithsonian Affiliate, the museum showcases the significant role New Mexico has played in the development of the U.S. Space Program and features the International Space Hall of Fame, and New Horizons Dome Theater.
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