After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States, both superpowers, fought for "world hegemony" for decades. During this period, although the differences between the United States and the Soviet Union were very serious, in order to avoid the outbreak of World War III, both sides tried their best to avoid large-scale armed conflicts, so both sides fought in a "cold way" such as local proxy war, science and technology and space competition, which was the famous "Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union" in world history.

The Soviet Union pioneered the space race.

1957 10 10 On October 4th, with the Soviet Union taking the lead in launching the world's first artificial satellite, Putnik, it marked the beginning of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the eyes of the United States, it will be an extension of the grand development plan of the United States to seize space resources before other countries in the world in today's increasingly exhausted earth resources.

After the successful launch of the satellite, the Soviet Union put manned space flight on the agenda. After everything was ready, for the safety of astronauts, the Soviet Union first sent a Russian hound named Leica into space to collect data on the impact of solar X-rays and ultraviolet radiation on satellites. So the Soviet Union didn't want Leica to return to Earth, so six days after Leica boarded Sputnik 2,

Lycra and Ham, both earth animals in space, have two different endings.

Unlike the hounds chosen by the Soviet Union, the United States chose Ham the chimpanzee as the object of "in vivo experiment" because chimpanzees, as primates, are most similar to humans. Compared with Leica, Hamm's fate is not much better, because the United States plans to let Hamm return to Earth safely when conducting experiments.

In order to ensure Ham's safe return to Earth, scientists trained him strictly for two and a half years. In the meantime, scientists have taught Ham to complete some simple actions. For example, when he sees the blue light flashing, if he moves the lever within five seconds, he will get a banana pill as a reward, but if he fails, his sole will be slightly punished by electric shock.

In extreme cases, Ham can successfully return after completing the space mission!

10 +0 19665438+365438 10 +0, Ham flew into space on the American Mercury II spacecraft, but this space trip was not smooth for Ham, because the spacecraft broke down shortly after liftoff, resulting in a higher flight angle than originally planned, that is, from the original planned height/kl.

Surprisingly, Ham actually completed the space mission and successfully returned in this extreme situation. When entering the earth's atmosphere, Ham's space capsule descended at a speed of 5000 miles, which made Ham fully experience the feeling of weightlessness. Then the capsule crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and was rescued by rescuers.

Full flight time 16 minutes and 39 seconds. After leaving the hut, Ham was rewarded with an apple and half an orange. After that, Ham was sent to Washington National Zoo to "spend his old age safely". Ham lived here for 17 years and finally died at the North Carolina Zoo at the age of 25. The average life span of a gorilla is about 40 years old, that is to say, he has experienced a "space journey".