Explorers and Discoveries

 

​It takes all kinds of people to make history. Those that create and capture events, those that discover and invent, those that share discoveries through their own language of education, arts, and storytelling. But there is a special breed of individual that is driven to explore. Often Explorers are considered fringe, reckless, or self-serving…until they make their discoveries or achieve their lofty goals. We recognize these individuals as brave, creative, and driven. They are the trail blazers.

Sometimes this exploration takes the form of scientific study, and the focus is internal – the study of the brain or behavior, gross or molecular bodies yet unknown. Explorers have reached beyond our planet for centuries, with their studies of celestial changes, through telescopes, and with their imaginations. But it has only been in the 20th century that we have been able to travel through space to these mysterious places we have written about for centuries, and it is through the imagination, rigorous research, and leadership of these Explorers that we have taken risks and succeeded.

The Viking Mars Missions have inspired and informed explorers for almost 40 years, and their work has translated into additional exploration and discovery – the genealogy of influence. These Explorers include scientists, programmers, business people, teachers, investors, technicians, politicians, and others that have made and supported exploration and intentional and accidental discoveries that have taken us to places we have never been before.

 

The following individuals have shared with us the their stories of how Viking inspired and influenced them in their professional and personal capacities. Many of them in turn inspired others, and that brings us to discoveries and missions of today and their future influence on science and culture. Below we share just a few words from each interview, part of the evolving project.

 

Ask yourself what the world would be like if even one of these expeditions did not happen? The most simple concept in science – cause and effect.

 

We hope these stories inspire and educate you, and they are just the beginning of the story that will unfold as the project progresses with the support of Vikings, Partners, and you… Share how Viking influenced you!

 

Dr. Klaus Biemann, Professor Emeritus MIT Chemistry

Dr. Biemann has contributed scientific leadership in his field in many ways, including developing a chemical analysis mass spectrometry tool to determine the structure of complex molecules. This process and tool was modified for Viking and was used in the search for organic material, or “clues”, that might indicate life on Mars. This contribution to Viking was just a small part of Dr. Biemann’s lifelong scientific exploration, that began well before Viking, in the 1950s, and continues today, influencing fields from organic chemistry to biology and medicine.

 

Dr. Kenneth Carpenter, Viking Intern, Hubble Space Telescope Operations Project Scientist

When explorers first began looking at the stars they couldn’t imagine what Dr. Carpenter has seen. From the details of the Martian surface on Viking, his celestial world opened up to the furthest reaches of what we know today as the Operations Project Scientist for the Hubble Telescope. It is a dream of young and old to view the universe in this intimate manner, and a huge responsibility to provide oversight and guidance to the many men and women that work together on this global resource. And it all began with…

“SciFi, the 1964 Worlds Fair, and the early space program led me toward a career in science and technology, and in the end astrophysics, but it was the ‘Viking Experience’ that first involved me directly and personally with NASA and led to my eventual role in the development and operations of the Hubble Space Telescope and to a career as a research astrophysicist.”

For some it is a singular focus that drills down into a discipline, to layers of detail not explored and in some cases unknown.  Dr. Carpenter’s interests led him to dual-path both performing research in astrophysics and developing space science instruments such as the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) for Hubble, and providing leadership as Principal Investigator for projects such as the international collaboration to execute a “Vision Mission” concept study for large, space-based UV-optical Interferometer called Stellar Imager (SI) (http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/) designed to image the surfaces of other stars. With these roles, Dr. Carpenter continues the chain of influence, supporting NASA Postdoctoral Programs for HST, SI, and WFIRST and Goddard Space Flight Center educational opportunities for new explorers to emerge and discover.

 

Jim McADams

was interested in space as a youth when he learned about Viking, listening to the radio and television reports from the mission. He was later hired while a student at Purdue for a coop work study as an engineering intern at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on the Galileo mission to Jupiter, by Bill O’Neil who worked on Viking. McAdams continued his education, completing degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, and has made notable achievement in a variety of roles from the design of complex trajectories to reach Mercury, to designing engaging experiences for the public to learn and explore. Without sharing this important work with the public and academics, the momentum is lost. It is the efforts of McAdams and others that understand the value of Education Outreach, and use their skills outside of their focus area, building educational materials that engage the public, that keep the energy behind space exploration going.  His work continues the legacies though succesful engineering and public outreach on MESSENGER and other missions.

 

Dr. Paul Spudis, Viking Intern,

Some people explore big concepts and places, and open doors to new ideas, and some study a place or idea in great detail, making it come alive to others with the depth of knowledge, and one fortunate graduate experienced a unique at that time ‘view’ of Mars which prepared him to participate in Viking, he reflects,

“It was an explosion of coincidental events… a key turning point in my life to become an aspiring scientist. It changed my life only in the sense that it confirmed what I wanted to do was a grand and fun thing to do.”

Spudis started by studying Electrical Engineering, but switched to geology at ASU, and had decided to specialize in planetary science.  A few perfectly timed events including a book written by Tim Mutch (The Geology of the Moon) and a job offer from Ron Greeley, sent him on a path mapping the surficial properties of Mars for a different NASA Ames project that would prepare him for his Viking intern experience.  Spudis has experience mapping images on all of the rocky planets of our Solar System, including looking at every Mariner 9 picture of Mars, subsequent images from Viking I, and many more images of the Moon over the past 30 years, making him a leading expert on the closest body to us, our Moon. In addition to leading research and programs, he also plays a leadership role in supporting the next generation of explorers at the Lunar Planetary Institute managing the internship program.

 

Dr. Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator, Mars Exploration Rover Missions (MER)

Dr. Squyres’ future as a an explorer did not begin with Viking, as he recalls “growing up I was always fascinated with two things, exploration and science.” He read books about the history of exploration, the deep sea and other unexplored places, and when he got into college at Cornell he began his studies of Geology, specifically marine tectonics “the least explored” topic he could find. But a chance siting of a 3 x 5 card in the cafeteria announcing a class taught by Joe Veverka, on the Viking Mission to Mars changed the direction of his life. After spending some time in a room filled with images of Mars…

“I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was a transformational experience.”

Today, Dr. Squyres leads investigations of Mars as the scientific principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover mission, which includes the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and as a co-investigator on the Mars Express mission, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Science Laboratory mission, and the Cassini mission to Saturn. But this path did not happen overnight, and it was not just the mission that led to a successful current career, it was also individuals that inspired, supported and nurtured the skills and knowledge base necessary to achieve the dreams of this future explorer and leader. His first influence was Dr. Veverka, but following that course, a string of other Viking and aerospace professionals provided the web of support. Mike Carr, Viking Team Member, and planetary geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey; Carl Sagan, Viking Lander Imaging Science-Flight Team Science Investigator, Astrophysicist, Author; Alan Delemere, retired Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation Engineer; Fred Huck, Viking Research Engineer at NASA Langley who joined the Lander Imaging Science Flight Team as Experiment Investigator, and others. But it is not a coincidence when individuals invest their time to train and mentor next generation explorers like Dr. Squyres, and as he reflected on Spirit and Opportunity…

“Fred was hugely influential. The things that I have learned from Fred are woven into the very design of the cameras on Spirit and Opportunity today.”

And Vikings’ influence continues…