David S. McKay | |
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| Born | September 25, 1936 |
| Died | February 20, 2013(2013-02-20) (aged 76) |
| Alma mater | Rice University (Geology) |
| Occupation(s) | Chief Scientist for astrobiology, Johnson Space Center |
| Known for | leading the team that announced the discovery of possible microfossils in a Martian meteorite from Antarctica |
David Stewart McKay (September 25, 1936 – February 20, 2013)[1] was the chief scientist forAstrobiology at theJohnson Space Center. During theApollo program, McKay provided geology training to the first men to walk on the Moon in the late 1960s. McKay was the first author of a scientific paper postulating past life onMars based on evidence in Martian meteoriteALH 84001, which had been found in Antarctica. Despite there being no convincing evidence of Martian life, the initial paper caused enormous scientific and public attention. TheNASA Astrobiology Institute was founded partially due to community interest in this paper and related topics. He was a native ofTitusville, Pennsylvania.[2]
As a graduate student in geology at Rice University, McKay was present at John F. Kennedy's speech in 1962[3] announcing the goal of landing a man on the Moon within the decade. Inspired by Kennedy's speech, McKay as a NASA scientist trained the Apollo astronauts in geology. He was a chief trainer for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their last geology field trip in West Texas. On July 20, 1969, in Houston, McKay was the only geologist present in the Apollo Mission Control Room when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon, serving as a resource. He was named the principal investigator to study the samples that they brought back from the Moon.[4]
McKay studied lunar dust since the return of the firstApollo 11 samples in 1969 and contributed over 200 publications on this topic. As a result of this effort, McKay contributed to major discoveries, including:[5]
McKay published numerous papers and abstracts relating to planetary materials and space resource utilization: lunarregolith,[6] cosmic dust, meteorites, Martian soil analogs, and technologies for producing oxygen, water, and building materials from lunar soil.[citation needed]
McKay, James Carter of the University of Texas at Dallas, and others developed the engineering simulant JSC-1.[citation needed]
McKay's team published their findings in 1996 regarding possiblemicrofossil structures in Martian meteoriteALH 84001. McKay presented more than 100 talks at scientific and public gatherings on the possibility of life on Mars and the implications of that possibility. These claims were controversial from the beginning, and much of the scientific community ultimately rejected the hypothesis once all the unusual features in the meteorite had been explained without requiring life to be present.[7]
McKay's research group conducted studies of nanobacteria, tiny life forms such as might be found in extraterrestrial environments. McKay's group was also part of a pioneering study on the effects of lunar dust on health. Using one of the largest returned Apollo regolith samples released to scientists, the research team separated and studied the tiniest-sized lunar dust particles.[8]
McKay was honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by having asteroid6111 Davemckay named for him in 2002.[9] His IAU citation mentions his years of work on lunar samples as well as the positive effect his research on Martian meteorites has had on planetary research.
 | This biographical sectionis writtenlike a résumé. Pleasehelp improve it by revising it to beneutral andencyclopedic.(February 2023) |
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058
McKay's future wife, Mary Fae, was also in the audience at Rice Stadium during President Kennedy's pivotal speech, although McKay had not met her at that time. She went on to become a NASA technical editor.
McKay died in Houston, Texas, of heart disease.[10]
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