The Lunar Prospector spacecraft, during its 18-month orbit around the moon, gathered crucial data and imagery. NASA concluded its mission on July 31, 1999, deliberately crashing it onto the lunar surface, carrying Eugene Shoemaker. This act made Shoemaker the only person to be buried on the moon, within a crater named in his honor near the south pole. His burial capsule was inscribed with the following words from the drama Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:
“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.”
Though the precise location of Shoemaker’s capsule remains elusive, it is presumed intact and sheltered from erosion, ensuring preservation for eons due to the moon’s lack of weathering.
Image: Canva
