Eugene Shoemaker: The Only Man Buried on the Moon

If the name sounds familiar, it's because there's a gigantic reason to remember it. Eugene Merle Shoemaker was one of the discoverers of the famous comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 that impacted Jupiter in July 1994. His work as a geologist and as one of the founding fathers of planetary science was also of enormous importance; however, that man had a pending wish: go to the Moon. Unfortunately, fate took him before his time, but thanks to the Lunar Prospector mission, which NASA initiated in 1998, Shoemaker managed to fulfill his dream.

Early Life and Education

Born in April 1928, Eugene Shoemaker witnessed some very dark moments during the twentieth century, but at the same time he lived closely alongside truly extraordinary advances. From the start he showed superior ability, entering Caltech in 1944 at just 16 years old and completing his studies there in only four years. He joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1948, an agency he never entirely left, and his first task there was locating uranium deposits in Utah and Colorado.

A Pioneer of Lunar Geology

By that time, Shoemaker had already started looking upward. By comparing craters created by atomic tests with others of natural origin, he determined the importance of meteorite impacts in Earth's geological processes. The Moon and its surface became a very tempting target for Shoemaker. He tried to convince his employers to create a geological map of the Moon in 1956, and he maintained a very good relationship with NASA. By 1961, Shoemaker was already involved in several advanced projects, including the establishment of the USGS astrogeology program, the Surveyor and Ranger missions to the Moon, and the training of astronauts.

A Dream Deferred by Illness

The Moon was getting closer and closer. However... his health said no. With such accumulated experience, Shoemaker was an excellent candidate for the Apollo program, but that possibility was ruled out when he was diagnosed with Addison's disease. He would never travel to the Moon, although that fact never stopped him, and he continued sharing his knowledge with the space program and other projects on Earth.

A Final Journey to the Moon

Eugene Shoemaker's story came to an abrupt end in Australia on July 18, 1997. That day, the geologist and his wife Carolyn suffered a serious car accident. Carolyn's injuries were very severe, but she managed to recover. Shoemaker was not so fortunate, and died there at age 69. Now, there were many who knew of his wish to travel to the Moon. One of his students prepared a plan to place an ounce of his ashes (a little more than 28 grams) aboard the Lunar Prospector probe, destined to impact the lunar surface in July 1999.

His ashes were placed in a polycarbonate capsule made by Celestis, the same company that sent Gene Roddenberry's ashes into space. The probe completed its objectives as expected and struck the lunar surface on July 31, near the South Pole. As small and symbolic as it may be, Eugene Shoemaker's dream came true, and that is perfect.

Source: Grunge