To the Moon and Back, Intuition and Outcomes

I love anything about space, space exploration and general big bang stuff. I admire the likes of Stephen Hawking or Eugene Shoemaker, whose intellects when measured must have been pretty much off the scale. These scientific boffin sorts come up with the most amazing theories and discoveries. If they tell me that the universe is expanding then no doubt it is. Despite the fact they can't explain in terms I can understand just what this now finite universe is expanding into, I'm happy to believe them.

And on the other side of the edge of the universe is .....?

But of course those possessing even the most amazing of brains can still fall victim of the same fates as we more simple folk. Stephen Hawking's back story is well known and inspiring, but it is Eugene Shoemaker that I find much more intriguing. He worked on lunar missions and, along with his wife and others, discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. He would have been the first astrogeologist to walk on the moon, but ill-health disqualified him from his planned Apollo mission - though he did, technically, make it to the moon. He is the only person to be buried on the moon. It just shows the high regard in which he was held by those at NASA that they were happy to shoot his ashes on up there.

The comet on-course for collision with Jupiter.

What adds to the interest, and tragedy, of his story is how he died. He was working in the Australian desert, studying impact craters and star gazing into the clear outback night skies. While travelling along a narrow, rutted road he encountered another vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. 

The other driver pulled hard to the left to avoid a collision, and had Eugene done the same he would be alive today. But being an American, he instinctively pulled to the right. His reflex reaction resulted in his instant death from the resulting head on collision. A sad loss to the world of science, though his wife who was travelling with him did survive her injuries and continues to be a prominent figure in the field to this day.

I was reminded of Eugene when a friend suggested, back in January, that 'The Craters of the Moon', near Taupo, would be well worth a visit. It is part of the whole geo-thermal, sulphur stuff that goes on around there. Now, I'm no scientist, but I was skeptical how anything involving bubbling mud could be anything like the dry surface of the moon, so from the outset my instincts told me this would be a disappointment if the name was anything to go by. In fairness, there was no actual bubbling mud to be seen - you could hear the odd 'plop plop' sound while traversing the board walks, and there were a few holes in the ground, and they must have been as dangerous as sign-posted because no one had dared to retrieve any of the rubbish other visitors had chucked in. 

Expect to be disappointed if you have a literal sort of mind.

Also, I'm pretty sure the moon isn't covered in messy scrub, in fact I think that vegetation is pretty thin on the ground of the lunar surface. The place was run by volunteers - those retired, self-righteous, bustling sorts who take themselves very seriously - who extracted an excessive amount of my hard-earned money for this tragic attraction. It was really more like wandering around after a bush fire that still had a few hotspots left for the fire service to deal with. 

As I trudged in the hot sun I mused how much better things would be if Eugene had ignored his instincts and, to a massively lesser degree on the scale of importance to mankind, I had taken more notice of mine.