Albert II, rhesus macaque, animal astronaut, and first mammal in space

Albert II (monkey)

First primate and first mammal in space

Albert II was a male rhesus macaque monkey who was the first primate and first mammal to travel to outer space. He flew from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, United States, to an altitude of 83 miles aboard a U.S. V-2 sounding rocket on June 14, 1949. Albert died upon…

Rhesus macaque

Species of Old World monkey

The rhesus macaque, colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or grey in colour, it is 47–53 cm (19–21 in) in length…

Animals in space

Animals in space originally served to test the survivability of spaceflight, before human spaceflights were attempted. Later, many species were flown to investigate various biological processes and the effects microgravity and space flight might have on them. Bioastronautics is…

June 14

Day of the year

June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 200 days remain until the end of the year.