Ironic Photo: In God We Trust - 1909 Lincoln Penny on Mars

by Oubliette 1 Replies latest social current

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  Oubliette

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  I just came across this very ironic photo in a CNN News article of a 1909 Lincoln Penny which is covered in Mars dust. The picture was taken by the Mars Curiosity Rover.

  I find the "In God We Trust" phrase ironic considering God had nothing to do with it. It is the ingenuity and engineering brilliance of the men and women of NASA's space program that got it there!

  No superstition needed, just science.

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  You can see the source document and many other cool pictures here:

  Photos: Mars rover Curiosity

  (It's the eleventh picture in the series)

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  Terry

  "NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is carrying a 1909 "VDB" Lincoln Cent, for use as a calibration target for the robot's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) instrument. A close-up image of the penny has shown that Lincoln’s face got blasted a bit by particles on the night of Aug. 5, when the 1-ton rover touched down.

  The penny was facing directly toward the plume of dust churned up by the engines of Curiosity's sky crane descent stage, which lowered the rover to the Martian surface on cables."

  I don't know if I would say it is "ironic" because it makes cents to me.