Space Chimps

Before introducing this film, a bit of history is necessary. Project Mercury was the United States' earliest manned spaceflight program, with its first manned spaceflight taking place on May 5, 1961. In the two years prior, NASA conducted multiple unmanned test flights of the Mercury spacecraft. The final test flight occurred at the end of January 1961, with a chimpanzee named Ham as the passenger. The spacecraft traveled 700 kilometers over the Atlantic Ocean. Several minor issues arose during the flight, but Ham survived and landed at sea. After that, NASA never invited Ham onto a spacecraft again. 　　The story of this film begins with that brave chimpanzee astronaut, Ham. Hoping to capitalize on the Ham family's fame, a senator recruits Ham's grandson, the utterly useless and foolish chimpanzee Ham III, and sends him along with two simian companions aboard a state-of-the-art spaceship through a wormhole to a strange planet. There, Ham III encounters a tyrant and embarks on a wondrous journey.