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Enos: The Littlest Hero
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Enos with one of his handlers. Just prior to the Mercury-Atlas 5 launch.
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On November 29, 1961 Enos was launched into orbit.During the flight, one of the roll thrusters failed and the capsule, with Enos inside, began to roll out of control as it orbited. "Then there was more trouble. The banana pellet system went haywire and began giving Enos shocks for his correct responses.
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Suddenly, the five-year-old chimpanzee was faced with a reward-punishment system that contradicted more than a year of intensive training. Scientists assumed that Enos would begin responding incorrectly in order to find the banana pellet rewards, but instead he overode NASA's malfunctioning system and performed the flight tasks he knew were right...
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Enos being placed in his "couch", before insertion into the capsule.
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Our Hero!
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even though he received an electric shock for every correct lever move" (Next of Kin). In all, Enos received 79 shocks for his correct responses. The test flight took Enos on a two orbit ride and landed him alive. That sounds like a true hero to me.
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Favorite Links
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