4th December 1959: A technician prepares Sam, a 7-lb rhesus monkey for his flight into space by securing him in a 100-lb biopack drum. Sam then rode a Project Mercury-type capsule to a height of 55 miles and landed 200 miles out in the Atlantic. The 'Little Joe' experiment to test the capsule's escape rocket system was a success. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
