On this day 65 years ago, on January 21, 1960 (December 23, 1959 in the lunar calendar), humans sent the first animal into space. On January 21, 1960, humans sent the first animal into space, a three-year-old female monkey. In the United States, a monkey named Sam was launched into space in "Project Mercury" to test the effects of acceleration and weightlessness. After a 13-minute voyage, the parachute returned it to Earth and landed in the Atlantic Ocean.