The first moon burial was that of Dr. Eugene Shoemaker (astronomer), a portion of whose cremated remains were flown to the Moon by NASA. Shoemaker's former colleague Carolyn Porco, a University of Arizona professor, proposed and produced the tribute of having Shoemaker's ashes launched aboard the NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft.

Gene Shoemaker amerykański astronom znany z odkrycia 24 marca 1993 r wraz Davidem Levym, komety nazwanej później Shoemaker-Levy 9. Shoemaker zginął w wypadku drogowym w Australii. W 1998 r sonda Lunar Prospector zabrała na Księżyc kilkadziesiąt gramów jego prochów umieszczanych w kapsule o rozmiarach szminki do ust.