Top 10 Strange Objects Sent into Space
Grissom's Dimes
In July 1961, astronaut Gus Grissom piloted the second flight of the Project Mercury program, which was the first human-spaceflight program in the U.S. Grissom, who named the spacecraft the Liberty Bell 7 because of its shape, took along with him "50 dimes, each for the children of friends; three $1 bills; some small models of the capsule; and two sets of pilot's wings" — all things that would be deemed more valuable because they had traveled to space. His 15-min. 37-sec. flight was a success, but it was upon landing in the Atlantic Ocean that he realized those souvenirs were now extra weight. When a hatch to the craft unexpectedly blew off and flooded the Liberty Bell, Grissom had to escape — nearly drowning in his own spacesuit — and leave behind the coins because his rescue helicopter could not carry the water-filled vessel. The Liberty Bell sank, but was recovered 30 years later, along with some of the dimes.