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From The Thunderbolt To The Moon: A Piece Of Pittsburgh Is Headed On A Lunar Mission

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A piece of Pittsburgh will soon be going on a lunar adventure.

The Heinz History Center finally has a winner in their poll on which piece of the Steel City to send to the moon.

The History Center teamed with Pittsburgh-based space robotics company Astrobotic for the project, and the public was given the opportunity to vote.

And the winner is, a token from Kennywood Park with more than 51 percent of the vote.

kennywood-token
(Source: Heinz History Center)

In a press release, Kennywood General Manager Jerome Gibas said: "We're over the Moon about the opportunity to represent Pittsburgh in outer space, and we thank the History Center and Astrobotic for making this happen! This Kennywood token doesn't have an expiration date, so if it ever makes its way back to Earth, it can be used to buy some of our world-famous Potato Patch fries!"

More than 20,000 votes were cast.

Astrobotic, founded by Carnegie Mellon University professor Red Whittaker, is developing space travel technology and plans to send their Peregrine lunar lander to the moon through their MoonBox program.

The Kennywood token will go with it as part of the first commercial Moon landing in 2021.

Some other hometown items fell just short of the moon trip, including:

  • A Heinz Pickle pin
  • Soil from Moon Park in Moon Township, Pa.
  • A piece of a Steelers Terrible Towel
  • A photo of Toni Haggerty from Primanti Bros.
  • A City of Pittsburgh flag pin
  • The Mister Rogers' "Won't You Be My Neighbor" song on a micro SD card

The Mister Rogers' micro SD card came in second with 14 percent of the vote, followed by a teeny tiny Smiley Cookie with nine percent of the vote thanks to a write-in campaign by Eat 'n' Park.

"Destination Moon" at the Heinz History Center ends on Monday.

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