Steven W. Squyres | |
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| Born | (1956-01-09)January 9, 1956 (age 69) Wenonah,New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Cornell University (B.A. andPhD) |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
| Known for | Spirit rover andOpportunity rover |
| Awards | Harold C. Urey Prize(1987) Carl Sagan Memorial Award(2004) Whipple Award(2012) |
Steven Weldon Squyres (born January 9, 1956) is an American geologist and planetary scientist. He was the James A. Weeks Professor ofPhysical Sciences atCornell University inIthaca, New York.[1][2] His research area is inplanetary sciences, with a focus on large solid bodies in theSolar System such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres was theprincipal investigator of theMars Exploration Rover Mission (MER).
Squyres is the recipient of the 2004Carl Sagan Memorial Award and the 2009 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Communication in Planetary Science. Squyres also received the 2010 Mines Medal for his achievements as a researcher and professor.[3] He is the brother ofAcademy Award-nominated film editorTim Squyres.
On September 13, 2019, Squyres announced that he would retire from Cornell University on September 22, 2019 to take the position of Chief Scientist atBlue Origin, anaerospace manufacturer.[4]
Squyres was raised in the town ofWenonah in southwestNew Jersey[5] and attendedGateway Regional High School inWoodbury Heights, New Jersey.[6]
Squyres received hisB.A. inGeological Sciences fromCornell University in 1978[6][7] and hisPh.D. inplanetary studies from Cornell University in 1981,[2][8] where he worked closely withCarl Sagan.[9] He is a member of theTau Kappa Epsilon (ΤΚΕ) fraternity.
Squyres then spent five years as a postdoctoral associate and research scientist at NASA'sAmes Research Center before returning to Cornell University as a faculty member. He received theHarold C. Urey Prize from the Planetary Division of theAmerican Astronomical Society in 1987. In 2007, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Earth and Environmental Science[10] from theFranklin Institute inPhiladelphia.
Squyres has participated in many ofNASA's planetary exploration missions. From 1978 to 1981 he was an associate of theVoyager mission toJupiter andSaturn, participating in analysis of imaging data. He subsequently worked as a radar investigator on theMagellan mission toVenus, and with theNear Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission. Along with his work as principal investigator on theMER (Mars Exploration Rovers), he is also a co-investigator on the 2003Mars Express and 2005Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, a member of theGamma-RaySpectrometer Flight Investigation Team for theMars Odyssey mission, and a member of the imaging team for theCassini to Saturn. Squyres served as Chair of theNASA Space Science Advisory Committee and as a member of theNASA Advisory Council (NAC). In November 2011, NASA AdministratorCharles Bolden named Squyres chairman of the NAC, succeeding Kenneth Ford, the founder and director of theFlorida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.
ABC News featured Squyres as its Person of the Week for January 9, 2004, andWorld News Tonight anchorPeter Jennings said he "has gotten us all excited."[11] Squyres was also given the 2005 Wired Rave Award for science byWired for overseeing the creation ofSpirit andOpportunity that had, at the time, lasted thirteen times longer than expected (1174 vs. 90 Martian days).[12]
Squyres has written a book calledRoving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet (published August 2005;ISBN 1-4013-0149-5), and appeared on the June 7, 2006 episode ofThe Colbert Report to discuss it, Mars, and MER. The DisneyIMAX documentary filmRoving Mars was made from the book.
Squyres was interviewed on60 Minutes on Sunday, April 6, 2008.[13]
A portrait of Squyres bySusan Gamble and Michael Wenyon was on view inNational Portrait Gallery's "Americans Now" exhibition, from August 20, 2010 through July 10, 2011.[14]
On September 19, 2011, NASA announced that Squyres would serve as anaquanaut aboard theAquariusunderwater laboratory during theNEEMO 15 undersea exploration mission from October 17–30, 2011.[15] Delayed by stormy weather and high seas, the mission began on October 20, 2011.[16][17] On the afternoon of October 21, Squyres and his crewmates officially became aquanauts, having spent over 24 hours underwater. NEEMO 15 ended early on October 26 due to the approach ofHurricane Rina.[16]
Squyres commented in a post-NEEMO 15 interview, "I would love to continue to be part of NEEMO - in any capacity. I'd be happy to go back as a support diver. I think what they are doing is so cool and I was proud to be part of it."[18] In June 2012, Squyres served as a crew member of theNEEMO 16 mission aboard Aquarius, which began on June 11, 2012 and lasted twelve days.[19][20]
Squyres also contributed to theDAN instrument on theCuriosity rover.
Squyres said in an interview that he would not be the principal investigator for theMars Science Laboratory, launched in 2011, as he did not want to be away from his family again for a long period (as happened during the Mars Exploration Rover Mission).[21]
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