Grave of Miss Baker, Space Monkey
For many years one of the star attractions at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center was "Miss Baker," an infamously ill-tempered squirrel monkey who in 1959 had been stuck in a rocket nose cone and blasted 360 miles to the edge of space. Her companion astro-monkey, Miss Able, died shortly thereafter (a sign at her birthplace tells her story), but Miss Baker lived a long and pampered life. She appeared on the cover of Life magazine and flew first class with a personal doctor to make TV appearances.
Her "monkeynaut" space capsule is displayed inside the Rocket Center, and her 1984 tombstone stands just outside its main entrance, sheltered in a grove of trees next to the parking lot. The inscription on her granite pillar immortalizes Miss Baker as the "First U.S. Animal to Fly in Space and Return Alive."