Miss Able

Able was born at Ralph Mitchell Zoo in Independence, Kansas. She was selected for the flight just two weeks before launch as a replacement for a wild-caught animal from India, as US President Eisenhower feared that this would strain relations with India. While Miss Baker was the US Navy's contribution to the mission, Able was selected by the US Army. Able's space suit was custom-made, consisting of a suit, a fiberglass helmet, and a small chair with a large back plate, which was custom-made based on a plaster model of a rhesus monkey. During the flight, Able was almost completely immobilized in the contraption. Her task was to press a button whenever a red light came on, which was supposed to trigger a radio pulse. None of these pulses could be recorded during the flight, officially due to a telemetry error, but rumour has it that this was attributed to Able's short training phase after the monkey exchange. After she and Miss Baker were selected for the flight, they were first named after the first two Greek letters, Alpha and Beta, and later, to better correspond to the usage of the US armed forces, after the first two letters of the US military spelling alphabet at the time. == The flight and death ==

Certificate for Able Both monkeys survived the actual space flight with a few minor cuts and abrasions from their helmets, but otherwise in good health. During the surgical removal of an implanted EEG electrode, complications arose due to the anesthesia, leading to respiratory arrest and, after 2.5 hours of intensive rescue efforts, ultimately death. However, the cause of death could not be determined. == Legacy ==

, Smithsonian Institution. Able and Miss Baker quickly became media stars. Two weeks after the flight, their flight was the cover story and they were on the cover of Life magazine. The attempts to revive Able were depicted in four large-format pages. She was embalmed and her body was positioned in a way that evoked a classic American patriotic gesture, a hand-over-the-heart salute. This is further emphasized by the lighting in the National Air and Space Museum exhibition, where her preserved body can still be viewed today. A slightly altered and revived version of Able, she becomes a male and a capuchin monkey, plays a role in the film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The gender change serves the purpose of making the monkey appear more patriotic. == See also ==