Squyres, Steven 1957–

(Steven W. Squyres)

PERSONAL: Born 1957. Education: Cornell University, B.S., 1978, Ph.D., 1982.

ADDRESSES: Home—NY. Office—Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, 428 Space Sciences Bldg., Ithaca, NY 14853. E-mail—squyres@astro.cornell.edu.

CAREER: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, DC, former postdoctoral associate and research scientist; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy. Participant in various space expedition missions, including as an associate for Voyager imaging science team, 1978–81; co-investigator for Russian mission to Mars, 1996, for Mars Express mission, 2003, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, 2005; radar investigator for Magellan mission to Venus; principal investigator for Mars Exploration Rover missions; member of imaging team for Cassini mission to Saturn; and member of flight investigator team for Mars Odyssey mission; also participated in Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous NASA mission. Former chair, NASA space science advisory committee; NASA Advisory Council, member.

AWARDS, HONORS: H.C. Urey Prize, Planetary Division of the American Astronomical Society, 1987.

WRITINGS:

Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Journal of Geophysical Research, Science, and Icarus.

SIDELIGHTS: Steven Squyres is a geologist and astronomer who has worked extensively for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He returned to Cornell University after five years to become a professor of astronomy, but has still been involved in assisting with various space missions. According to the university's department of astronomy Web site, his interests include the history of water on Mars, the geophysics of the icy satellites of the outer planets, and the tectonics of Venus. Squyres was an associate of the Voyager imaging science team, a radar investigator for the Magellan mission to Venus, and a coinvestigator for the 1996 Russian Mars mission, and his research projects include the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Investigation for the 2001 Mars Surveyor Mission, Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) Investigation, MER: Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem, and participation in the HIRISE Mission.

In Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet Squyres recounts the work that led to the Mars Exploration Rover mission, a landmark in his career. He recalls the setbacks and successes experienced by teams of scientists and engineers who spent long hours working out the details that culminated in success, so much so that the robotic rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, that landed in 2004 continued to send back data far beyond the end of the mission. The success of the mission returned energy and enthusiasm to NASA, which had suffered several setbacks in the preceding years, including the deaths of several astronauts. The mission proved that water once flowed on the surface of Mars, which meant that life may have once existed there.

Squyres, who was mentored by the late Carl Sagan, recalls in his book the moment when, as an undergraduate, he knew that the exploration of space was to be his life's work. He also profiles others who contributed to the mission. Jeremy Manier wrote in a Chicago Tribune review that "the real payoff, though, comes late in the book when the team sees the first photos from Opportunity and Squyres wonders, 'What in God's name are we looking at?' His mouth hangs open as the photos stream in and he realizes they're seeing an outcrop of layered bedrock directly in front of the rover, something no Mars probe had ever glimpsed. Squyres writes, 'I can't get any words out as I stare at the picture; it feels hard even to breathe.'"

A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Roving Mars "a fascinating, passionate insider's account." Gilbert Taylor added in Booklist that "couched in conversational prose, Squyres' enthusiasm for exploring Mars shines brightly."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2005, Gilbert Taylor, review of Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet, p. 1885.

Chicago Tribune, August 24, 2005, Jeremy Manier, review of Roving Mars.

Investor's Business Daily, October 19, 2005, Curt Schleier, "Going Where No One Else Has; Think Big: Steve Squyres's Drive Helped Him Launch His Ideas Right out of This World," p. A4.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2005, review of Roving Mars, p. 629.

Publishers Weekly, May 30, 2005, review of Roving Mars, p. 49.

Science News, September 3, 2005, review of Roving Mars, p. 159.

ONLINE

Cornell University Department of Astronomy Web site, http://astro.cornell.edu/ (November 20, 2005), profile of Squyres.

Malin Space Science Systems Web site, http://www.msss.com/ (November 20, 2005), profile of Squyres.

Red Colony, http://www.redcolony.com/ (February 11, 2003), Alex Moore, interview with Squyres.