Edward L. Fireman, 68; Noted Astrophysicist

Edward L. Fireman, an astrophysicist who was one of the first scientists to examine rocks brought back from the moon in 1969, has died. He was 68.

Fireman died Thursday in Boston as the result of a heart attack.

“This is worth about $5 million. I’m going to get out of town with it as soon as I can,” Fireman had joked on Sept. 12, 1969, when two-ounce vials of moon dust were given to each of six scientists. The material was brought back from the first manned moon landing earlier that summer by Neil Armstrong and other astronauts.

Fireman had worked for the Smithsonian Astrophysics Observatory since 1956 primarily analyzing space debris. Among his achievements was the development of a method for measuring the ages of Antarctic ice samples.