Best Rhesus

Able was a rhesus macaque born at the Ralph Mitchell Zoo in Kansas who became one of the first primates to survive a spaceflight. On May 28, 1959, Able and a squirrel monkey named Miss Baker were launched into suborbital space aboard a Jupiter AM-18 rocket by the United States. The successful recove...

Tetra is a rhesus macaque born in Oregon in 1999, known as the first cloned primate produced by embryo splitting, or artificial twinning.

Retro is a rhesus macaque announced by Chinese researchers in 2024 as the first healthy clone of the species made with a revised SCNT method.

Zhakonya was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 9 in 1989, a mission that set a monkey space-endurance record of 13 days 17 hours.

Zabiyaka was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew with Zhakonya on Bion 9 in 1989, sharing the monkey endurance record of 13 days 17 hours.

Semos was a nine-year-old male rhesus macaque at Oregon National Primate Research Center whose skin cells yielded cloned embryonic stem cells.

Miss Sam was a female rhesus macaque flown on NASA's Little Joe 1B in 1960, surviving an 8 minute 35 second Mercury abort-system test.

Krosh was a Russian rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 10 in 1992 and 1993; after rehabilitation on Earth, he later produced offspring.

Abrek was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 6, or Kosmos 1514, in 1983, the Soviet Union's first orbital primate mission.

Bion was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew with Abrek on Bion 6 in 1983, helping begin the USSR's Bion satellite primate program.

Dryoma was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 8 in 1987; after recovery, he was reportedly presented to Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Lapik was a Russian rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 11 from December 24, 1996, to January 7, 1997, the last Bion monkey mission.

Yerosha was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew with Dryoma on Bion 8 from September 29 to October 12, 1987, for orbital life-science studies.

Verny was a Soviet rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 7, or Kosmos 1667, from July 10 to July 17, 1985, in orbital biomedical research.

Ivasha was a Russian rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 10 from December 29, 1992, to January 7, 1993, in post-Soviet orbital research.

Albert IV was a U.S. rhesus macaque launched on the last monkey V-2 flight in 1949; he reached space but died after a parachute failure.

Fargam was a male Iranian rhesus macaque launched on 14 December 2013 in a Pishgam capsule, reportedly reaching about 120 km and returning safely.

Multik was a Russian rhesus macaque that flew on Bion 11 in 1996 and 1997; he died under anesthesia during post-flight biopsy sampling.

Scatback was a U.S. rhesus macaque launched on a suborbital flight in 1961; he survived the flight but was lost at sea after landing.

Aftab was an Iranian rhesus macaque used in the country's 2013 primate spaceflight program, reported as safely returned after a suborbital launch.

Albert I was a U.S. rhesus macaque launched on a V-2 rocket in 1948; he reached high subspace but died, likely before or during the flight.

Ramu was a rhesus macaque in India reportedly kept behind bars for years after attacks on children helped spark communal unrest in Jagannathpur.