Paul van Hoeydonck, who created the first artwork on the Moon, died on Saturday.
A few years ago, Laurie Gwen Shapiro and I investigated the strange, twisted story that took the "Fallen Astronaut" sculpture to the Moon & sparked a scandal. Linked here:
https://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/12/sculpture_on_the_moon_paul_van_hoeydonck_s_fallen_astronaut.html #science #art #space #history
I'm making a pilgrimage to 3 great observatories in Chile's Atacama desert (ALMA, CCAT, and the Simons Observatory). It's a trip I've dreamed about for years. Will try to post updates as I go.
Just getting there--from Santiago to Calama to San Pedro--is spectacular. Such raw geology.
The Lucy mission is named after Lucy the hominid fossil. Donaldjohanson is named after Donald Johanson, who co-discovered the fossil.
The fossil, in turn, is named after "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," because Johanson's team did a celebratory dance to the song after their remarkable find.
https://lucy.swri.edu/mission/Overview.html #science #nature #history
Corey S Powell
David Blanchflower BSc