[meteorite-list] Gene Shoemaker's birthday

From: Piper R.W. Hollier <piper_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:13:11 2004
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20030428124729.026b0dd0_at_pop.xs4all.nl>

Dr. Eugene Shoemaker would have celebrated his 75th birthday today, were it
not for a tragic automobile accident on 18 July 1997 in Alice Springs,
Australia.

He was a man with many talents, activities, and accomplishments, making a
brief biography nearly impossible. Possibly of most interest to those
subscribed to this list are his role in founding the science of
astrogeology, his pioneering work in understanding the physics of impact
cratering, and his successful efforts to make the dangers of asteroid and
comet impacts known to a broader public. Together with his wife Carolyn, he
was an industrious participant in the search for earth-crossing asteroids
and comets. The Shoemakers were co-discoverers (with David Levy) of the
Shoemaker-Levy comet which collided spectacularly with Jupiter in 1994.

His lifelong dream of being the first geologist to do field work on the
moon was thwarted by a health problem which made it impossible for him to
become an astronaut, but he played a key role in training the Apollo
astronauts. On 31 July 1999, one ounce of his ashes was deposited on the
surface of the moon by the Lunar Prospector spacecraft, making him the
first human being to have a resting place there.

The web site of the Flagstaff AZ office of the USGS has a more detailed
biography with photographs:

http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/Shoemaker/GeneObit.html

Best wishes to all,

Piper
Received on Mon 28 Apr 2003 07:14:59 AM PDT