A chimp helped pave the way for human space exploration - and he survived. The Artemis II mission came to an end on April 10 as the astronauts safely returned to Earth following a historic 10 days of space travel . But before humans ventured into space, scientists tested the impact and demands of spaceflight on a series of animals . On January 31, 1961, a chimpanzee, known as Ham the Chimp, went down in the history books as the first great ape launched into space. Ham flew aboard the Mercury-