THE ABLE-BAKER COUCHES
These are the actual fixtures used to hold and monitor the monkeys Able and Baker during their flight. The rhesus monkey Able, preserved after her death, is displayed here in her specially-designed couch, which fit inside a protective capsule.

THE BAKER EXPERIMENT
The smaller squirrel monkey Baker also was transported in a specially-designed restraint, cushioned with polyurethane foam. The end of the couch cylinder has molded rubber pads to absorb jolts, while the couch foam absorbed high-frequency vibrations. Baker's biological reactions were telemetered to ground recorders. The Baker Experiment was a project of the U.S. Naval School of Aviation Medicine.

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-- -- TIMELINE -- --


Racing to Space
The Moon decision
To reach the moon
Apollo 11
Later Apollo missions
What we learned about the Moon
After the Apollo Program


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Created: 7/99