Harold Masursky | |
|---|---|
 Masurskyc. 1980 | |
| Born | (1922-12-23)December 23, 1922 Fort Wayne, Indiana, US |
| Died | August 24, 1990(1990-08-24) (aged 67) |
| Education | Yale University B.S., M.S. |
| Known for | Planetary Science |
| Awards | 4 NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medals (1972, 1973, 1977 & 1980) Distinguished Service Award, Dept. of Interior (1985) Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Trophy for Lifetime Achievements (1988) G. K. Gilbert Award (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology,Astrogeology |
| Institutions | NASA,United States Geological Survey |
Harold (Hal) Masursky/məˈzɜːrski/ (December 23, 1922* – August 24, 1990) was an Americanastrogeologist.[1]
After leavingYale University without defending his dissertation, he started his career in the early 1950s as a fieldgeologist in Wyoming and Colorado working for theUnited States Geological Survey (USGS). In the early 1960s, he moved to the Astrogeology division of the USGS and began working at NASA'sJet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In the mid-1960s, he moved to Flagstaff, Arizona as a foundingplanetary geologist at the newly constructedUSGS Astrogeology Science Center.[2] Throughout his professional career with the USGS, his work contributed to the mission ofNASA in the areas of economic, structural, and planetary geology.
He was responsible for the investigation of planetary and lunar surfaces, especially in finding scientifically valuable landing places. This included for theApollo program, where, in the 1960s, he played a major role in choosing landing sites[3] and assisted in training astronauts in the basics of geology so they would know what to look for on the surface of the Moon. In the 1970s, he headed the team that mapped the surface ofMars and was once again involved in choosing landing sites, this time for the MarsViking missions. In the 1980s, he worked with theVoyager program to explore the surfaces ofJupiter,Saturn,Uranus, andNeptune.
Masursky was a strong advocate for the exploration of Venus and he was a key member ofPioneer Venus Orbiter team. He worked on numerous other space missions and programs, including, for Moon exploration,Ranger,Surveyor, theLunar Orbiter, and the mapping of Mars byMariner 9, as well as contributing to the missions of theGalileo andMagellan spacecraft.[2] He was often interviewed on television as his enthusiasm for the planetary discoveries of the space missions was both edifying and infectious[3]
An especially key role was his work as the president of theWorking Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU).[4] He created a small stir in 1986, when he was required to reject a popular suggestion that new moons of Uranus, discovered earlier that year, be named for the seven astronauts lost in theSpace ShuttleChallenger explosion - the IAU has strict guidelines that prohibit major bodies being named in honor of persons from a particular country.[5]
In 1985, Masursky was the recipient of theDistinguished Service Award, which is the highest honorary recognition an employee can receive within theDepartment of the Interior. Quoting from the award, the 1985USGS Yearbook states: “Harold Masursky, Geologist, for his imaginative leadership in the field of astrogeology which has influenced almost every facet of lunar and planetary exploration since the beginning of the nation's space program.”[6][7]
TheMasursky crater on Mars was chosen because it is effluvial, meaning "flow" (it looks like water ran through it), to honor his fervent belief that Mars once had flowing water on the surface. In 1981, theasteroid2685 Masursky was discovered and named in his honor. TheMasursky Award for Meritorius Service to Planetary Science,[8] first awarded toCarl Sagan in 1991, and theMasursky Lecture, originating in 1992 and given during the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC),[4][9] are named for him as well.
Upon his death in Flagstaff, Arizona, he was buried in the city'sCitizens Cemetery.[10][11]
*Note there is some confusion about the year of Harold Masursky's birth; in some places it is reported as 1922 and in some places is reported as 1923.[citation needed]
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