On my last post I mentioned Mons Malapert and a 6 page report in AEROSPACE AMERICA/OCTOBER 2008
that Paul Lowman co-authored.
Patrick Taylor at the Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory, NASA - GSFC let me know that Paul Lowman passed away in September 2011 at the age of 80.
Time marches on and those that participated in our studies of the Moon and Earth continue to leave us and I hope will not be forgotten.
The following is a copy of the LPI Obituary for your consideration.
- LRK -
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Paul Lowman, 1931–2011
Paul Lowman of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center died on September 29, 2011, at the age of 80. Born in 1931, Lowman was one of the original scientists at Goddard. He spent several years with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, then as a field assistant at the U.S. Geological Survey before becoming, in 1959, “the first geologist hired by NASA.” His early work at Goddard was in the Theoretical Division, then run by Robert Jastrow, where he worked with John O’Keefe on the origin of tektites and pre-Apollo lunar geology.
Lowman was closely tied to the Apollo program, helping to plan the early missions while detailed to NASA Headquarters, and later being involved in the analysis of lunar samples and the interpretation of Apollo 15 and 16 X-ray fluorescence and gamma-ray data. He was a Co-I on the IRIS experiment on the Mariner 9 mission to Mars. Long before it was a popular concept, Lowman was actually doing “comparative planetology,” asking what the new information from the Moon and Mars could tell us about the Earth. He was the father of Earth orbital photography, having initiated that effort for early Mercury and Gemini missions. This led eventually to multispectral imaging of the Earth and the Landsat series of satellites.
Lowman’s field work included studies of ancient exposed rocks in Scotland and the well-known Sudbury Crater in Ontario. In 2010, he returned to Sudbury Crater as the leader for a Goddard Lunar and Planetary Academy summer intern group. Lowman won the Lindsay Award in 1974 and the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service in 2003. He was author of several books on orbital photography of the Moon and Earth, and was on a first-name basis with many Apollo and Skylab astronauts, including John Young, Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, Owen Garriott, and Neil Armstrong. Armstrong wrote the foreword to Lowman’s last book, Exploring Space, Exploring Earth, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2002. That book describes the prominent role Goddard played in space exploration, something Lowman both witnessed and contributed to firsthand for more than 50 years. He will be greatly missed.
Paul D. Lowman Jr (Author), Neil A. Armstrong (Foreword)
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This successor edition will be lengthened, drawing on the latest satellite data to emphasize the power potential and communications advantages of Malapert Mountain in the South Polar region of the Moon, being the optimum location for the establishment of the first lunar base. It will follow the same theme as THE MOON 1st edition: concepts of space exploration from the Moon and discussions of Earth benefits will be expanded. A colour section depicting graphic images will be added in the 2nd edition and the number of appendices will be reduced.David G. Schrunk, Burton L. Sharpe, Bonnie L. Cooper, Madhu Thangavelu
snip
Paul Lowman, 1931–2011
Paul Lowman of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center died on September 29, 2011, at the age of 80. Born in 1931, Lowman was one of the original scientists at Goddard. He spent several years with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, then as a field assistant at the U.S. Geological Survey before becoming, in 1959, “the first geologist hired by NASA.” His early work at Goddard was in the Theoretical Division, then run by Robert Jastrow, where he worked with John O’Keefe on the origin of tektites and pre-Apollo lunar geology.
Lowman was closely tied to the Apollo program, helping to plan the early missions while detailed to NASA Headquarters, and later being involved in the analysis of lunar samples and the interpretation of Apollo 15 and 16 X-ray fluorescence and gamma-ray data. He was a Co-I on the IRIS experiment on the Mariner 9 mission to Mars. Long before it was a popular concept, Lowman was actually doing “comparative planetology,” asking what the new information from the Moon and Mars could tell us about the Earth. He was the father of Earth orbital photography, having initiated that effort for early Mercury and Gemini missions. This led eventually to multispectral imaging of the Earth and the Landsat series of satellites.
Lowman’s field work included studies of ancient exposed rocks in Scotland and the well-known Sudbury Crater in Ontario. In 2010, he returned to Sudbury Crater as the leader for a Goddard Lunar and Planetary Academy summer intern group. Lowman won the Lindsay Award in 1974 and the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service in 2003. He was author of several books on orbital photography of the Moon and Earth, and was on a first-name basis with many Apollo and Skylab astronauts, including John Young, Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, Owen Garriott, and Neil Armstrong. Armstrong wrote the foreword to Lowman’s last book, Exploring Space, Exploring Earth, which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2002. That book describes the prominent role Goddard played in space exploration, something Lowman both witnessed and contributed to firsthand for more than 50 years. He will be greatly missed.
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The report mentioned before.
- LRK -
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6 pages
MALAPERT?
NASA’s present plans call for returning humans to the Moon sometime before 2020 and establishing a permanent lunar outpost there. This base will have several purposes. First, it will be a central station from which to resume robotic and manned exploration of large areas of the Moon. Second, it will allow the Moon itself to serve as a base for study of the universe by accommodating astronomical instruments such as radio and optical telescopes, eventually in interferometric arrays. Third, through the process of its construction and operation, the base will provide valuable experience for Martian exploration (although allowance must be made for the different environment of Mars). Fourth, the outpost will allow development of the ability to use lunar resources for sustaining and expanding human operations in space. This capability, called in-situ resource utilization, will be a key factor in the development of future large-scale interplanetary missions.
snip
Copyright© 2008 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
38 AEROSPACE AMERICA/OCTOBER 2008
by Paul D. Lowman Jr.
Geophysicist, NASA Goddard
Burton L. Sharpe
Lunar researcher
David G. Schrunk
Aerospace engineer and
MD/radiologist
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And from Wikepedia.
- LRK -
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Paul D. Lowman (September 21, 1931 – September 29, 2011) was a geophysicist in the Geodynamics Branch of the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. Throughout his long career, he had worked in the fields of comparative planetology, geology, neotecto
snip
Lowman wrote a number of books and NASA documents including the following titles:
Lunar Panorama: A Photographic Guide to the Geology of the Moon
Geologic Applications of Orbital Photography
The Geologic Evolution of the Moon
Exploring Space, Exploring Earth: New Understanding of the Earth from Space Research
Geologic Applications of Orbital Photography
The Geologic Evolution of the Moon
Exploring Space, Exploring Earth: New Understanding of the Earth from Space Research
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And from Landsat News.
- LRK -
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Remembering Paul Lowman
Oct. 11, 2011 • Dr. Paul D. Lowman, Jr., an early Landsat affiliate, passed away on Sept. 29, 2011 at age 80. Born in 1931, Dr. Lowman worked with the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps and the U.S. Geological survey before being hired by NASA in 1959. As the first geologist hired by NASA Dr. Lowman worked on pre-Apollo lunar geology. He was closely tied to the Apollo program, helping to plan the early missions while detailed to NASA Headquarters and was later involved in the analysis of lunar samples and the interpretation of Apollo 15 and 16 data. As a geologist, Dr. Lowman was asked to review proposals for a new Earth observation satellite called the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1), later renamed Landsat 1. Dr. Lowman helped manage some of the early Landsat research and coauthored Mission to Earth: Landsat Views the World and the Planetary Landforms chapter of Geomorphology from Space. Dr. Lowman created one of the earliest maps using Landsat 1 data and he authored a 1999Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing journal article titled: “Landsat and Apollo: The Forgotten Legacy.” Just over a year ago, in May 2010, Dr. Lowman, recounted some of his Landsat memories with the Landsat Legacy team and he explained some of the ways that Landsat has impacted the field of geology (revolutionizing our understanding of Asian tectonics, basement tectonics, and the discovery of active volcanoes). Dr. Lowman's Landsat Legacy interview will be preserved as part of the Landsat Legacy archive.
Further Information:
+ Paul Lowman: NASA's 76-Year-Old Maverick
+ Paul Lowman: NASA's 76-Year-Old Maverick
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May there be more that Dare to dream!!!
Thanks for looking up with me.
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.
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Newsletter: https://mailman1.
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Exploring Space, Exploring Earth: New Understanding of the Earth from Space ResearchPaul D. Lowman Jr (Author), Neil A. Armstrong (Foreword)
Publication Date: August 26, 2002
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The Moon:
Resources, Future Development and SettlementThis successor edition will be lengthened, drawing on the latest satellite data to emphasize the power potential and communications advantages of Malapert Mountain in the South Polar region of the Moon, being the optimum location for the establishment of the first lunar base. It will follow the same theme as THE MOON 1st edition: concepts of space exploration from the Moon and discussions of Earth benefits will be expanded. A colour section depicting graphic images will be added in the 2nd edition and the number of appendices will be reduced.David G. Schrunk, Burton L. Sharpe, Bonnie L. Cooper, Madhu Thangavelu
snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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