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 Replies: 50 / Views: 12,479 |
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Valued Member
 United States
213 Posts |
I am thinking now, the 1909 VDB Mars Cent may have been cleaned purposively as a test to see how it might tone and change on the surface of Mars over time. It would be a hoot to see it go "Rainbow". Any chemists want to comment. Mars' atmosphere is mostly Carbon Dioxide (95%), while Earth's atmosphere is mostly Nitrogen (77%) and Oxygen (21%). Quote:
Mars' Atmosphere
Abundance________(in Bars)_____Percentage
Carbon dioxide_____0.0062_______95
Nitrogen___________0.00018______2.7
Argon______________0.00010______1.6
Oxygen_____________0.000002_____0.13
Water______________0.00000039___0.03
Pressure: Less than 10 millibars at the surface
Earth's Atmosphere
Abundance________(in Bars)_____Percentage
Nitrogen___________0.78_________77
Oxygen_____________0.21_________21
Hydrogen___________0.01_________1
Argon______________0.94_________0.93
Carbondioxide______0.000355_____0.035
Pressure: Around 1,000 millibars at sea level  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
950 Posts |
How interesting! I had no idea that any of this was happening until I saw this thread.
Does anyone know what the expected recovery date is?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Quote:
I am thinking now, the 1909 VDB Mars Cent may have been cleaned purposively as a test to see how it might tone and change on the surface of Mars over time. It would be a hoot to see it go "Rainbow". I also wondered about the harsh scrubbing--to see how the metal might react on Mars?  There's very little oxygen to react with the bronze, but perhaps there will be remaining sulfur compounds from volcanic acticity that might interact with the copper? It will also get a lot more exposure to solar radiation than on Earth. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1770 Posts |
ill wait for the jupiter version  |
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Valued Member
United States
213 Posts |
I don't think this Mars Cent will be recovered anytime soon in our life times if at all - I give it a low probability of returning to earth, but it could happen.
Yes not much free Oxygen (little more than one-tenth of a percent).... it's all tied up in C-O2, and I'm not sure if Carbon Dioxide can cause bronze (95% copper, 5% zinc) to oxidize.
Mars' air not good to breath as Arnold found out in Total Recall.
Edited by Danester
08/09/2012 9:35 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
So sometime in the future an Alien race will wander into our Solar System. Then they land on Mars to do a little surveying and find that Penny. I would think if there is a Numismatist Alien on that ship, his fist words would be something like "Great, what a bunch of Cheapskates". "I travel millions of Light Years and what do I get, a lousy Penny".   |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I agree we wont ever see that penny back here unless an alien decides to send it back. Only way itd be recovered besides aliens is for a human to go to mars and get it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Manned Mars missions are only out of the question "for now." They may still be in our future, and not necessarily far off! It'd be hilarious if an astronaut on the first mission did, in fact, grab the coin and bring it back . . . I'm betting his family would never go hungry, if he decided to sell.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2651 Posts |
So I decided to try to contact some people from NASA to get photos of the coin during the calibration on Mars....Its a fat chance I will get any reply but cross your fingers. Can I file a FOIA?
Ok...I filled out the Freedom of Information Act to get photos. I'm hoping my sense of humor and adventure help.
On the section asking the purpose to the Request I wrote:
I am a member of a forum that includes Coin Collectors and NASA fans. We will not be using the photos for monetary gain. We will be using the photos for education and overall astonishment.
Anyone ever fill out a FOIA before?
Edited by Jayman931
08/10/2012 12:58 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
I can only guess that a lot of people are asking about the Lincoln Cent. Have you been watching the briefings? First order of business seems to be uploading the final rover software. After that, they'll start testing and calibrating the instruments--including taking that photo, I'm sure. It's just a matter of time before it's on NASA's site. Here's the latest briefing.  Edited by DVCollector
08/11/2012 12:21 am
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Valued Member
United States
213 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2651 Posts |
I received my response from NASA...here is my response I received from the Freedom of Information Act I requested for pics of the Lincoln Cent... Your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated August 13, 2012, for release of information from the files of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) received in FOIA processing at the NASA Management Office-Jet Propulsion Laboratory on August 13, 2012. You requested the following: "Photos of the 1909 VDB Penny from The Mars Rover: Curiosity taken on Mars during calibration of its cameras." This is to advise that I could not locate any responsive Government records for your request. However, images of the 1909 VDB penny on Mars have yet to be taken. Once this happens, the raw images will be automatically released to the public, normally within 24 hours, by posting them to the web site at: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/You have appeal rights concerning these actions. Edited by Jayman931
08/15/2012 4:56 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
I can't believe I just found this thread! This is very neat, although I agree, this cent will most likely never be seen again on earth, but it would be neat if they could prove me wrong  |
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Valued Member
United States
213 Posts |
Quote:...here is my response I received from the Freedom of Information Act I requested for pics of the Lincoln Cent... Excellent, you got a quick response from the Federal Government - that's encouraging. Now get back to them and ask them who killed Kennedy.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Quote:
However, images of the 1909 VDB penny on Mars have yet to be taken. Well, right--did you really think a FOIA request would expedite all the tasks including image processing that NASA/JPL has to do? |
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Posted 08/09/2012 1:51 pm
