Eugene Merle (Gene) Shoemaker (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997) was an American geologist and one of the founders of the field of planetary science. He co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994: the impact was televised around the world. Shoemaker also studied terrestrial craters, such as Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, and was the first scientist to conclude that these craters were caused by meteor impacts. He was also the first director of the United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology Research Program.
He was killed in a car accident while visiting an impact crater site in Australia. After his death, some of his ashes were carried to the Moon with the Lunar Prospector mission.
