Able & Baker

Able and Baker, you brave little monkeys

You boldly went forth where nobody had gone

You showed us that spaceflight was safe for a human

And helped usher in an exciting new dawn

On May 28, in the year ’59

You were strapped in a Jupiter, shot into space

Were you scared when you first heard the rocket ignite?

Did your little palms sweat, did your little hearts race?

Did you know that the others before you had perished

When rockets exploded before they were done

Or when they crashed down due to parachute failure

Or baked in the scorching New Mexico sun?

Of course not! I mean, they were just little monkeys

And really, they didn’t have much of a choice

But Able the rhesus and squirrel monkey Baker

Survived their ordeal, which made NASA rejoice!

And what an ordeal! At their peak in their capsule

The monkeys experienced 38 G’s

And while they arched up over 300 miles

Our little Miss Baker tried catching some zzz’s!

And so I say “Thanks” to our little space monkeys

The lessons you taught we were eager to learn

You made it look easy, so one final question:

I’m good as a monkey, so when’s it my turn?