Space History Photo: Ham Tries Out His Life Support System

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By NASA Archives
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In preparation for his 1961 Mercury Redstone-2 flight, Ham checks out his life support system and couch. (Image credit: NASA.)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, Ham tries out his combination couch and life support system in preparation for his flight in Mercury Redstone-2 (MR-2). The couch is plugged into the circuit that normally would supply the astronaut's full pressure suit.

The MR-2 flight was one in a series of flights that led to the manned orbital flights of NASA's Project Mercury program.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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NASA Archives
NASA Archives
U.S. Space Agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. government agency in charge of the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA is a civilian space agency aimed at exploring the universe with space telescopes,  satellites, robotic spacecraft, astronauts and more. The space agency has 10 major centers based across the U.S. and launches robotic and crewed missions from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. It's astronaut corps is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. To follow NASA's latest mission, follow the space agency on Twitter or any other social channel, of visit: nasa.gov.