Astrogeology Research Program from the USGS in 1993. He remained on Emeritus status with the USGS and maintained an affiliation with Lowell Observatory until his death in a car accident in Australia in 1997. Gene was involved in the Lunar Ranger and Surveyor programs and continued with the manned Apollo programs. He culminated his lunar studies in 1994 with new data on the Moon from Project Clementine, for which he was the science-team leader. Gene collaborated closely with his wife, Carolyn, a planetary astronomer. The discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy (which impacted Jupiter in 1994) with colleague David Levy, gained them worldwide fame. This
Carolyn S. Shoemaker Carolyn S. Shoemaker Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (born June 24, 1929) is an American astronomer and is a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She once held the record for most comets discovered by an individual. Carolyn Jean Spellmann was born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. to Leonard and Hazel Arthur Spellmann. Her family moved to Chico, California, where she and her brother Richard grew up. Carolyn Spellmann earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history, political science, and English literature from Chico State University. Richard went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he earned a bachelor's degree in