Eugene Shoemaker: Dancing On A Moonbeam

Before he died last summer in an auto accident while studying impact craters in Australia, geologist Eugene Shoemaker recalled that the biggest disappointment of his life was "not going to the moon and banging on it with my own hammer." Shoemaker, a famed expert in lunar science, had dreamed of becoming the first geologist to accompany Apollo astronauts to the moon. But because of health problems, he had to settle for training astronauts in geology and analyzing the lunar rocks they brought back.

Now, Shoemaker will finally get his dearest wish. When NASA's Lunar Prospector blasted off toward the moon last...