1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. Lauren bobble bam Here. Eugene or Gene Shoemaker 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: trained astronauts and founded a new science born on April Night. 4 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: Shoemaker was one of the twentieth centuries great minds. His 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: work on impact craters affected everything from NASA's Apollo missions 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: to the dinosaur extinction debate. For his contributions to human knowledge, 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: he was awarded the National Medal of Science by then 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: President George H. W. Bush In, but a different honor 9 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: eluded him. Shoemaker studied the Moon from Afar, but he 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: often dreamed of climbing into a space suit and walking 11 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: on its surface. Sadly, he never got the chance. Addison's 12 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: disease crushed his hopes of becoming an astronaut, but in 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: some of his ashes were laid to rest near the 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: Moon's southern pole. That made him the first and to date, 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: the only person to ever receive a lunar burial. It 16 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: was a poignant epilog to the man's rear. Shoemaker was 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: a geologist by training, and craters were one of his 18 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: great passions. He helped confirm that the famous Bearinger Crater 19 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: near Flagstaff, Arizona, a crater that's five hundred and seventy 20 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: feet or a hundred and seventy three deep, was made 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: by an asteroid impact. He also championed the hypothesis that 22 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: another such impact killed last non avian dinosaurs sixty six 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 1: million years ago, and by mapping some of the craters 24 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: on our Moon, he revolutionized our understanding of its geology. 25 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty one, the United States Geological Surveys set 26 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: up an astrogeology research program. Shoemaker, often considered the founding 27 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: father of astrogeology, was chosen to lead it. NASA would 28 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: enlist his services to Shoemaker joined future Apollo astronauts on 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: field trips to Berenger Crater and other sites, where he 30 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: trained them to collect rock samples, perhaps seemingly simple skill set, 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: but one that would let them eventually bring home the 32 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: first Moon rocks humans ever saw, and thus making all 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 1: kinds of research possible. His work was instrumental to the 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,919 Speaker 1: discovery of the Shoemaker Leve nine commet, which struck Jupiter 35 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: in One of the commets co discoverers was Eugene's wife 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: and fellow scientist, Caroline Shoemaker. Cumulatively, Jeane and Caroline discovered 37 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: one thousand, one hundred and twenty five asteroids and thirty 38 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,519 Speaker 1: two commets, But on July eighth, the couple was involved 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: in a tragic car accident. Though Caroline survived, Jean was killed. 40 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: The very next day, Shoemaker's former student, Caroline Porko, devised 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: a fitting tribute. A planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, 42 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: Porco learned that her mentor was going to be cremated, 43 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: so she spearheaded an effort to put an ounce that's 44 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: twenty eight grams of his ashes board NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft. 45 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: The cost of sending things into space can run into 46 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: the hundreds of thousands of dollars per pound in terms 47 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: of time and energy and research, and so although physically small, 48 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: that single ounce is a huge tribute. Polycarbonate urn capsule 49 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: was built by Celestis, the same company that sent ashes 50 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: of Star Trek creator Geane Roddenberry into orbit. Wrapped around 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: Shoemaker's appsle was a brass foil ribbon bearing a picture 52 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: of the baron Drew Crater and a thematic quote from 53 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: Romeo and Juliet, and when he shall die, take him 54 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: and cut him out in little stars, and he will 55 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: make the face of Heaven so fine that all the 56 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: world will be in love with night, and pay no 57 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: worship to the garish sun. With the precious cargo and 58 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: tow the spacecraft launched out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January. 59 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: More than a year later, the vessel, whose objective had 60 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: been to hunt for water, was deliberately crashed near the 61 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: lunar South Pole. Shoemaker's ashes went down with it. Celestia's 62 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: hopes to enter other human remains on the Moon at 63 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: some point, but for the moment, Shoemaker has the place 64 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: to himself. Caroline Shoemaker said in press release. It brings 65 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: a little closure in a way to our feelings. We 66 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: will always know that when we look at the Moon 67 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: that Jean is there. Today's episode was written by Mark 68 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: Mancini and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a 69 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,119 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more 70 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: in this and lots of other unearthly topics, visit our 71 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: home planet how stuff Works dot com, and for more 72 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app. 73 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.