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Friday, 5th October 2007 (4972 views)

Two gold coins that travelled more than six million miles through space have been returned safely to Earth, according to the Virginia Gazette.

The image on the gold commemorative five-dollar coins represents the historic American settlement of Jamestown and the role that the original settlement had in the formation of the US.

According to the newspaper, Nasa recognised a 'spirit of exploration' in the coins, which it likened to the sense of discovery inspired by the people who settled in America hundreds of years ago.

Patrick Forrester, an astronaut on the space shuttle Atlantic, told the newspaper that space explorers share similar experiences to the first colonists at Jamestown.

"When we first come up on land, we all get very excited and float up to the windows," he explained.

"I expect that's similar to how the English settlers felt when they first sighted land."

Safely back on Earth, one coin will go on display at the Jamestown settlement, while the other will be displayed in the Historic Jamestowne National Park Service visitor centre, according to Nasa.

 

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