NASA’s decision to send astronomer Eugene Shoemaker’s ashes to the Moon has
ruffled the feathers of the native American Navajo Nation. Shoemaker, who died
in a car crash last July, had his ashes launched on the Lunar Prospector probe.
But Albert Hale, President of the Navajo Nation, says this is insensitive to his
people, for whom the Moon is sacred. “You can’t make everybody happy,” says John
Lawrence of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
5
A type of fibre that stimulates GLP-1 release approved for use in food
6
I’m the first person whose life was saved by CRISPR base editing
7
The best new science-fiction novels published in July 2026
8
The best sci-fi novel in 2026 so far – plus 6 other great reads
9
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
10
The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics
