Dinosaur bones taking ride in space

January 11, 1998
Web posted at: 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 GMT)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- In a case of the Flintstones meets the Jetsons, dinosaur bones are taking a ride on the space shuttle.

Retired astronaut Jay Apt, now director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, offered a 214-million-year-old Coelophysis skull to NASA for the upcoming mission of the space shuttle Atlantis, which lifts off January 22.

"This remarkable opportunity to marry the Earth's history with humankind's future is what the Museum of Natural History is all about," Apt said.

The 8-inch-long skull will not be the object of any study but is included among several lightweight items taken on each shuttle flight for the novelty of being in space, said National Aeronautics and Space Administration spokeswoman Audrey Rivers.

The Coelophysis skull, which was found in a New Mexico quarry, normally rests in an exhibit case in the museum's Dinosaur Hall. The Coelophysis is one of the oldest North American dinosaurs, 6 feet long and standing nearly 3 feet at the shoulder.

Copyright 1998   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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