Mareta West

Mareta Nelle West (August 9, 1915 – November 2, 1998) was an American astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeologist. Her cremated remains were launched into space.

Early life West was born August 9, 1915, in Elk City, Oklahoma, to Luther and Myrtie West. West was a third-generation Oklahoman, her grandparents having moved to Indian Territory in 1889. where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

West married Albert Reichard on April 21, 1939. They had divorced by the time of the 1940 United States Census.

Career In the 1940s, West worked as a petroleum geologist in the oil and gas industry. She worked in Oklahoma City for eleven years before joining the United States Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1964, two years after the agency was founded. She was the first woman astrogeologist.

West was the only woman on the Geology Experiment Team for Apollo 11. She chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing,

Cremated remains launched into space Her cremated remains were launched into space aboard a SpaceLoft-XL rocket on April 28, 2007, as part of the first commercial attempt to launch human remains for lunar "burial". This was a sub-orbital launch, and the cremains were recovered afterwards. A second attempt to launch the cremains was made on August 2, 2008, aboard a Falcon 1 rocket. The intended destination of this flight was low Earth orbit, but the rocket failed two minutes after launch.

Publications Nuclear Power Reactor Sites in the Southeastern United States, 1978. West Side of the Moon