Stargazer Phill marks 15 years since rock's space quest

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ASTRONOMER Phill Parker has marked the 15-year anniversary of a curious episode that saw him send a rare piece of rock on a mission into space.

Mr Parker was walking in Butterton, Newcastle, in 1993, when he stumbled on a piece of ancient 'dolerite' rock, which was first discovered by legendary scientist Charles Darwin during his many geological surveys.

The rock has since been adopted by space travellers because of its association with the evolutionary theorist, who penned the famous work, On the Origin of Species.

And, as an experiment, Mr Parker organised for his own rock believed to be between 50 and 60 million years old to be blasted into space with Russian astronauts.

During the project, in 1999, the rock, dubbed the Darwin Millennium Space Rock, spent a total of 380 days at the Russian MIR Space Station.

It was later exhibited in museums around the world including the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex in Florida, where it was viewed by more than 100,000 visitors.

Now a photo of the famous rock has been sent into space via a high altitude balloon to mark the 15th anniversary of the rock's interstellar adventure.

Mr Parker, aged 67, of the Westlands, said he hoped the rock would act as an inspiration for people to continue the exploration of space.

He said: "When I first sent that piece of rock to Moscow, I never imagined it was going to be showcased in museums around the world.

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Stargazer Phill marks 15 years since rock's space quest