Which lunar crater is the resting place of Eugene Shoemaker's ashes?

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The lunar crater that holds Eugene Shoemaker’s ashes is Shoemaker crater.

Shoemaker is a roughly 50.9-kilometre-wide impact crater near the Moon’s south pole, close to Shackleton crater. It lies in near-permanent darkness, making its floor an especially cold environment where volatile substances such as water ice can survive.

After Shoemaker died in a 1997 car crash in Australia, a small portion of his ashes was placed aboard NASA’s Lunar Prospector spacecraft. On July 31, 1999, the spacecraft was deliberately crashed into Shoemaker crater. The mission also investigated hydrogen deposits there, although its impact did not produce a confirmed plume of water vapor.

A common mix-up is Malapert, Cabeus, or Haworth: all are nearby or scientifically important lunar polar craters, but Shoemaker is the one named for the geologist whose remains reached the Moon.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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