Being an astronaut has got to be one of the coolest jobs out there. If you grew up in the late 20th century, there's also a chance it was the job you dreamed of doing more than anything else. Unfortunately, a recent study found that American children are now three times more likely to want to be vloggers than astronauts. These days, if they shoot the moon, it'll be with a camera, and if they land among the stars, well, they'll probably be Youtube stars. For the brave few who crave real space over Myspace, however, there's still hope, as NASA accepts around 12 astronauts into its training program every couple of years. Then again, there is one other way to make it to the moon. Just ask Eugene Shoemaker.
Shoemaker was a famed geologist and the founder of planetary science that is, the study of planets, moons and the processes that form them. He also happens to be the only human buried on the moon. How he got there, however, is a longer story. Born April 28th 1928, Shoemaker began his career as a geologist, helping the United States Geological Survey study impact craters. During this time, he became a major proponent of the hypothesis that an asteroid impact led to the extinction of dinosaurs. His success in this field led to his appointment as director of the team that would map the moon, cementing his status as a founder of astrogeology.
Shoemaker soon began a long and fruitful relationship with NASA, training multiple astronauts and, along with his wife Carolyn, discovering more comets and asteroids than almost anyone else. Most notable was the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet, which drew worldwide attention in 1994 when it crashed into Jupiter.
Compared to the average person, Levy lived an incredible life full of monumental achievements, but there was one goal that always eluded him. Having spent much of his career studying the Moon, he dreamt of one day going for himself. When the possibility of a lunar landing began to look realistic, Shoemaker applied to the astronaut program, but was barred due to a medical condition called Addison's disease, which affects the adrenal glands.
Unfortunately, Shoemaker's dreams wouldn't come to fruition, as his life came to a tragic and sudden end. While performing research in Alice Springs, Australia, he and his wife were involved in a car accident. Carolyn Shoemaker would survive, but Eugene perished at the age of 69, without ever having lived out his ultimate dream. The last line of his New York Times obituary is a quote of his that reads:
"Not going to the Moon and banging on it with my own hammer has been the biggest disappointment in life."
Knowing full well what Shoemaker's wishes were, a former student of his devised a plan to put one ounce of his ashes on NASA's Lunar Prospector Spacecraft, a research probe designed to crash into the moon. His ashes were placed in a special polycarbonate urn capsule built by Celestis, the same company that sent Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's ashes into space. The capsule was decorated with a brass foil ribbon with a picture of Barringer Crater, where Shoemaker began his career, and a quote from Romeo and Juliet, reading:
"And, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine, That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun."
The probe launched in early 1998 and orbited for over a year before being deliberately crash landed near the Moon's south pole. With it were Shoemaker's ashes, finally achieving his lifelong dream and bringing some closure to the rest of his family. In a press release issued on the day of the launch, Carolyn Shoemaker said:
"This is so important to us. It brings a little closure, in a way, to our feelings. We will always know when we look at the moon, that Gene is there."
#Moon #Space #NASA
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