Steve Squyres

{{Short description|Professor of Physical Sciences at Cornell University }} {{Infobox person | name = Steven W. Squyres | image = Steve squyres.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|01|09}} | birth_place = [[Wenonah, New Jersey|Wenonah]], [[New Jersey]], U.S. | death_date =  | death_place = | alma_mater = [[Cornell University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] and [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]) | other_names = | occupation = Astronomer | known_for = [[Spirit rover]] and [[Opportunity rover]] | awards = [[Harold C. Urey Prize]] <small>(1987)</small><br />[[Carl Sagan Memorial Award]] {{small|(2004)}}<br />[[Whipple Award]] {{small|(2012)}} }} '''Steven Weldon Squyres''' (born January 9, 1956) is an American geologist and planetary scientist. He was the James A. Weeks Professor of [[Physical Sciences]] at [[Cornell University]] in [[Ithaca, New York]].<ref>"Steve Squyres." ''Almanac of Famous People''. Gale, 2011. ''Biography in Context''. Retrieved May 23, 2014.</ref><ref name="astro.cornell.edu">[https://astro.cornell.edu/people/facstaff-detail.php?pers_id=112 Cornell University Department of Astronomy Faculty]</ref> His research area is in [[planetary sciences]], with a focus on large solid bodies in the [[Solar System]] such as the terrestrial planets and the moons of the Jovian planets. Squyres was the [[principal investigator]] of the [[Mars Exploration Rover Mission]] (MER).

Squyres is the recipient of the 2004 [[Carl 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mines-medal.sdsmt.edu/ |title=Mines Medal |access-date=2010-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031012906/http://mines-medal.sdsmt.edu/ |archive-date=2010-10-31 }}</ref> He is the brother of [[Academy Award]]-nominated film editor [[Tim 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 at [[Blue Origin]], an [[aerospace manufacturer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cornellsun.com/2019/09/13/mars-rover-lead-prof-steve-squyres-to-leave-cornell-for-amazons-blue-origin/|title = Mars Rover Lead Prof. Steve Squyres to Leave Cornell for Bezos's Blue Origin|date = 13 September 2019}}</ref>

==Early life== Squyres was raised in the town of [[Wenonah, New Jersey|Wenonah]] in southwest [[New Jersey]]<ref>{{cite news | last=Riordan | first=Kevin | title=Mars mission's lead scientist saw stars long ago | publisher=[[The Courier-Post]] (Cherry Hill, NJ) | date=2004-01-20 | url=http://www.courierpostonline.com/columnists/cxri012004a.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724123009/http://www.courierpostonline.com/columnists/cxri012004a.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-07-24 | access-date=2006-12-30}}</ref> and attended [[Gateway Regional High School (New Jersey)|Gateway Regional High School]] in [[Woodbury Heights, New Jersey]].<ref name="Mars Exploration: Zip Code Mars">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060614232553/http://zipcodemars.jpl.nasa.gov/bio-contribution.cfm?bid=206&cid=197&pid=197 Mars Exploration: Zip Code Mars]. Accessed June 13, 2007.</ref>

==Education== Squyres received his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[Geology|Geological Sciences]] from [[Cornell University]] in 1978<ref name="Mars Exploration: Zip Code Mars"/><ref>[http://www.fi.edu/winners/2007/squyres_steven.faw?winner_id=4406 Franklin Laureate Database] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102070155/http://www.fi.edu/winners/2007/squyres_steven.faw?winner_id=4406 |date=2013-11-02 }}</ref> and his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[Planetary science|planetary studies]] from Cornell University in 1981,<ref name="astro.cornell.edu"/><ref>[https://www.astro.cornell.edu/members/display/former-phds.html/page:2 Cornell University Astronomy Former PhDs]</ref> where he worked closely with [[Carl Sagan]].<ref>[https://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct09/SquyresSagan.html Cornell Chronicle: Squyres wins Sagan medal]</ref> He is a member of the [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]] ({{lang|grc|ΤΚΕ}}) fraternity.

==Career== Squyres then spent five years as a postdoctoral associate and research scientist at NASA's [[Ames Research Center]] before returning to Cornell University as a faculty member. He received the [[Harold C. Urey Prize]] from the Planetary Division of the [[American Astronomical Society]] in 1987. In 2007, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Earth and Environmental Science<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131102070155/http://www.fi.edu/winners/2007/squyres_steven.faw?winner_id=4406] "2007 winners," Franklin Institute</ref> from the [[Franklin Institute]] in [[Philadelphia]].

===NASA=== [[File:20040115 Sp Egress-br.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Squyres reacts to the images of ''[[Spirit (rover)|Spirit]]'' leaving its lander, January 2004]] [[Image:Squyres underwater.jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.1|Squyres performing underwater [[Extravehicular activity|EVA]] during the [[NEEMO]] 15 mission, October 2011]] Squyres has participated in many of [[NASA]]'s planetary exploration missions. From 1978 to 1981 he was an associate of the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] mission to [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]], participating in analysis of imaging data. He subsequently worked as a radar investigator on the [[Magellan probe|Magellan]] mission to [[Venus]], and with the [[Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous]] mission. Along with his work as principal investigator on the [[Mars Exploration Rover|MER]] (Mars Exploration Rovers), he is also a co-investigator on the 2003 [[Mars Express]] and 2005 [[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]] missions, a member of the [[Gamma ray|Gamma-Ray]] [[Spectrometer]] Flight Investigation Team for the [[Mars Odyssey]] mission, and a member of the imaging team for the [[Cassini-Huygens Mission|Cassini]] to Saturn. Squyres served as Chair of the [[NASA]] Space Science Advisory Committee and as a member of the [[NASA Advisory Council]] (NAC). In November 2011, NASA Administrator [[Charles F. Bolden Jr.|Charles Bolden]] named Squyres chairman of the NAC, succeeding Kenneth Ford, the founder and director of the [[Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition]].

[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] featured Squyres as its Person of the Week for January 9, 2004, and ''[[ABC World News Tonight|World News Tonight]]'' anchor [[Peter Jennings]] said he "has gotten us all excited."<ref>{{cite web |title=Person of the Week: Steven Squyres |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050817050418/https://abcnews.go.com:80/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=131839 |archive-date=2005-08-17 |url-status=live |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=131839&page=1}}</ref> Squyres was also given the 2005 Wired Rave Award for science by ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' for overseeing the creation of [[Spirit rover|Spirit]] and [[Opportunity rover|Opportunity]] that had, at the time, lasted thirteen times longer than expected (1174 vs. 90 Martian days).<ref>[https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/rave.html?pg=3 The 2005 Wired Rave Awards]</ref>

Squyres has written a book called ''Roving 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 of ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' to discuss it, Mars, and MER. The Disney [[IMAX]] documentary film ''[[Roving Mars]]'' was made from the book.

Squyres was interviewed on ''[[60 Minutes]]'' on Sunday, April 6, 2008.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-next-giant-leap-for-mankind/ | work=CBS News | title=The Next Giant Leap For Mankind | date=2008-04-04}}</ref>

A portrait of Squyres by [[Wenyon & Gamble|Susan Gamble and Michael Wenyon]] was on view in [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]]'s "Americans Now" exhibition, from August 20, 2010 through July 10, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/americansnow/index.html|title = Introduction}}</ref>

On September 19, 2011, NASA announced that Squyres would serve as an [[aquanaut]] aboard the [[Aquarius (laboratory)|Aquarius]] [[Underwater habitat|underwater laboratory]] during the [[NEEMO#NEEMO 15: October 20–26, 2011|NEEMO 15]] undersea exploration mission from October 17–30, 2011.<ref name="fifteen">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/sep/HQ_11-309_NEEMO.html|title=NASA - NASA Announces 15th Undersea Exploration Mission Date And Crew |access-date=September 19, 2011|publisher=NASA|date=September 19, 2011|author=NASA}}</ref> Delayed by stormy weather and high seas, the mission began on October 20, 2011.<ref name="fifteen2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NEEMO/NEEMO15/topside-reports.html|title=NASA - NEEMO 15 Topside Reports |access-date=October 27, 2011|publisher=NASA|date=October 27, 2011| author=NASA}}</ref><ref name="fifteen3">{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/analogsfieldtesting/posts/post_1319199446023.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023175910/http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/analogsfieldtesting/posts/post_1319199446023.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2011|title=NEEMO 15 - Splashdown Day!|access-date=October 25, 2011|publisher=NASA|date=October 21, 2011|last=Walker|first=Shannon|author-link=Shannon Walker}}</ref> 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 of [[Hurricane Rina]].<ref name="fifteen2"/>

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."<ref name="Cowing">{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.rss.html?id=1588|title=A Post-Mission Conversation With NASA NEEMO Aquanaut Steve Squyres|last=Cowing|first=Keith|date=November 15, 2011|publisher=SpaceRef Interactive Inc|access-date=March 15, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202174629/http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.rss.html?id=1588|archive-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref> In June 2012, Squyres served as a crew member of the [[NEEMO#NEEMO 16: June 11–22, 2012|NEEMO 16]] mission aboard Aquarius, which began on June 11, 2012 and lasted twelve days.<ref name="sixteen">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/apr/HQ_12-116_NEEMO.html|title=NASA - NASA Announces 16th Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crew|author=NASA|date=April 16, 2012|publisher=NASA|access-date=April 17, 2012}}</ref><ref name="sixteen2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/662324main_Topside-Report-MD12-Final.pdf|title=NEEMO 16 Mission Day 12 - Status Report|author=The NEEMO Mission Management and Topside Support Team|date=June 22, 2012|publisher=NASA|access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>

Squyres also contributed to the [[Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons|DAN]] instrument on the [[Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'' rover]].

===Mars Science Laboratory=== Squyres said in an interview that he would not be the principal investigator for the [[Mars 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/8.19.04/Squyres_interview.html |title=Steve Squyres interview July 2004 |access-date=2005-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207175208/http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/8.19.04/Squyres_interview.html |archive-date=2005-02-07 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [https://astro.cornell.edu/people/facstaff-detail.php?pers_id=112 Cornell Astronomy Dept.] * {{C-SPAN|1008811}} * [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000B5749-67A2-1150-A5AC83414B7F0000&ref=sciam&chanID=sa006 Scientific American: Father of Spirit and Opportunity] With the success of twin rovers on the Red Planet, Steven W. Squyres and his team are showing how to conduct robotic missions—and setting the stage for human exploration * [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html Mars Exploration Rovers] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060614232553/http://zipcodemars.jpl.nasa.gov/bio-contribution.cfm?bid=206&cid=197&pid=197 Squyres bio] at ''Zip Code Mars'' page * [https://athena.cornell.edu/news/mubss/ Mars Exploration Rovers Mission Update blog] * [https://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March07/squyres.franklin.html Squyres receives Benjamin Franklin Medal for Mars Rover leadership; meanwhile, rovers keep proving their mettle], Cornell Chronicle (20 March 2007) * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgrOmRQuaCY Video of Steve Squyres discussing the Spirit and Opportunity missions] * [http://asunews.asu.edu/20101007_shoemakeraward Arizona State University presents Shoemaker Award to NASA's MER chief scientist] * [http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/70321/june-07-2006/steve-squyres Steve Squyres talks about space exploration with Stephen Colbert on June 7, 2006.] * [https://www.youtube.com/NatlPortraitGallery#p/a/u/0/DtMLzn40XzQ Steven Squyres speaks at National Portrait Gallery about his role in launching uncrewed missions to Mars]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squyres, Steve W.}} [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American astronomers]] [[Category:Aquanauts]] [[Category:Cornell University alumni]] [[Category:Cornell University faculty]] [[Category:Gateway Regional High School (New Jersey) alumni]] [[Category:Planetary scientists]] [[Category:People from Wenonah, New Jersey]] [[Category:Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates]]