The USGS Flagstaff Field Center

Astrogeology Program

By Kevin Mullins and Mary Chapman

Carolyn Shoemaker cuts the ribbon for the new Shoemaker Center for Astrogeology along with Flagstaff Mayor Joe Donaldson and Team Chief Scientist Wes Ward.

On July 27, 2002, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the dedication of the new Shoemaker Center for Astrogeology building on the campus of the Flagstaff Field Center. The building is named in memory of Eugene M. Shoemaker, the founder of the Astrogeology Research Program and the Flagstaff Field Center. The honorees of the event were Gene's widow, Carolyn, and their son, Patrick. Approximately 300 guests were in attendance for the dedication including speakers Carolyn Shoemaker, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt, Donald Beattie, Gordon Swann, then Astrogeology Program Chief Wes Ward, and USGS Director Chip Groat. After the ceremonies, Astrogeology scientists and staff gave tours of the new building, providing information and details of ongoing research and upcoming events in planetary science.

Gene Shoemaker

Gene being awarded the National Medal of Science by President George Bush in a White House Rose Garden ceremony, June 23, 1992.

Dr. Eugene Shoemaker once said he considered himself a scientific historian, one whose mission in life is to relate geologic and planetary events in a perspective manner--a modest statement coming from a man who almost single-handedly created planetary science as a discipline distinct from astronomy. He brought geologic principles to the mapping of other planetary surfaces, resulting in more than three decades of discoveries involving the planets and asteroids of our Solar System. He was a 1992 recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the President of the United States, then George Bush.

Gene with Dr. Eddie McKee at Toroweap Point, Grand Canyon (1968).

A longtime resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1961, Gene invented the Branch of Astrogeology within the U.S. Geological Survey and established the Field Center in Flagstaff in 1963. Retired from the USGS in 1993, he held an Emeritus position there and was later affiliated with Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. An incredibly diverse person, he influenced science in numerous ways. He conducted a decade-long sky survey for earth-crossing asteroids and comets that culminated in the discovery (with wife Carolyn and David Levy) of Comet Shoemaker-Levy, which impacted Jupiter in 1994, giving the world of science a major new insight into both the dynamics of comets and the planetary science of Jupiter. He has spent numerous summers (Australian winters) exploring ancient parts of the earth for records of meteorite and comet impacts, resulting in the discovery of a number of new craters. In much of his asteroid and comet work, Shoemaker collaborated closely with his wife, Carolyn, a planetary astronomer. A close and devoted couple, their work was recently featured in a 1997 National Geographic documentary "Asteroids: Deadly Impact." They considered their work a "Mom and Pop" operation and together they initiated the Palomar Planet-crossing Asteroid Survey in 1973, and the Palomar Asteroid and Comet Survey in 1983.

Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in southern California.

Gene Shoemaker seems to have been a geologist from the day he was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1928. He earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1960. But even before he completed his graduate work, he began laying the foundations of "astrogeology" that would lead him outward to the planets. He began exploring for uranium deposits in Colorado and Utah in 1948, and these studies brought him geographically and intellectually near the many volcanic features and the one impact structure on the Colorado Plateau in the western United States. During the period of 1957-1960, he did classic research on the structure and mechanics of meteorite impacts. This work, including the discovery of coesite (a high pressure form of silica created during impacts) with E.C.T. Chao, provided the fledgling planetary science community definitive work on the basics of impact cratering. It was work that he continued throughout his life, both by exploration of the earth (particularly in Australia where he would meet an untimely death) and the other planets through remote sensing and mapping.

A man of vision, he believed geologic studies would be extended into space and in his early career he dreamed of being the first geologist to map the Moon. During the 1960's, he lead teams who were investigating the structure and history of the Moon and developing methods of planetary geologic mapping from telescope images of the Moon. A health problem prevented his being the first astronaut geologist, but he personally helped train the Apollo Astronauts and sat beside Walter Cronkite in the evening news giving geologic commentary during the Moon walks. He was involved in the Lunar Ranger and Surveyor programs, continued with the manned Apollo programs, and culminated his moon studies in 1994 with new data on the Moon from Project Clementine, for which he was the science-team leader.

Gene was the recipient of awards too numerous to mention here, but during this celebration of the USGS 125th Anniversary it would be remiss not to mention a man whose contributions, efforts, and vision laid the foundation for what is now the discipline of Planetary Science. More information about Gene and the history of the FFC can be found at: http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/AstroHistory/

Apollo Astronaut Training

By Deborah Soltez and Kevin Mullins

Starting in 1963, the Astrogeology Research Program played an important role in training astronauts destined to explore the lunar surface and in supporting the testing of equipment for both manned and unmanned missions.

As part of the astronauts' training, USGS and NASA geoscientists gave lectures and field trips during the 1960's and early 1970's to teach astronauts the basics of terrestrial and lunar geology. Field trips included excursions into the Grand Canyon to demonstrate the development of geologic structure over time; Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff) and Kitt Peak National Observatory (Tucson); Meteor Crater east of Flagstaff; and Sunset Crater cinder cone and nearby lava flows in the Flagstaff area. This training was essential to giving astronauts the skills and understanding to make observations about what they would see on the lunar surface and to collect samples for later study back on Earth.

Explosive blast blows an "impact crater" in the volcanic cinders north of Flagstaff. Numerous blasts of varying sizes recreated a section of the lunar surface for Apollo astronaut training exercises.

The volcanic fields around Flagstaff have proven particularly useful in testing equipment and training astronauts. Cameras planned for use in the Surveyor project were tested on the Bonito Flow in Sunset Crater National Park because the lava flow appeared to be similar to flows on the lunar surface. Using explosives to create artificial impact craters, the lunar surface near the proposed first manned American landing site on the Moon was replicated in the Cinder Lakes volcanic field near Flagstaff.

An aerial view of the simulated lunar surface created in the Cinder Lakes area northeast of Flagstaff, AZ.

This artificial terrain provided the astronauts an opportunity to train on a surface composed of geologic materials and topographic conditions similar to what they would experience on the Moon. The "Grover" built at the Flagstaff facility and used during these training exercises is on display in the lobby of the Shoemaker building on the Flagstaff Field Center campus.

Cinder Lakes, Flagstaff. Apollo 15 astronauts James Irwin and David Scott test drive the Grover (Geologic rover) at the Cinder Lakes Crater Field.

The USGS Flagstaff Field Center was established in 1963 to provide lunar geologic mapping and assist in training astronauts destined for the Moon. The first building was constructed northeast of downtown Flagstaff on McMillan Mesa. There were a number of important factors in choosing Flagstaff as a location for the field center including accessibility to the surrounding San Francisco Volcanic Field, nearby Meteor Crater, and the excellent atmospheric conditions for astronomical observations of the Moon. A telescope was built here specifically to support a USGS program of lunar geologic mapping in addition to the topographic maps of the Moon that were being made at Flagstaff's Lowell Observatory.

The Flagstaff Field Center campus now has five buildings housing over 185 science, research, technical, and administrative staff members from several USGS and Department of Interior programs. For additional information about the field center, visit the USGS Flagstaff Field Center home page at http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)

By Kevin Mullins and JPL staff

This mosaic image was taken by the navigation camera on Jan. 4, 2004 by Spirit and shows a 360 degree panoramic view of the rover on the surface of Mars. Image credit: NASA

On January 3, 2004, the first of NASA's twin robot rovers bounded onto the surface of Mars and returned a signal to Earth telling mission scientists that it had safely landed. By Jan. 4, low-resolution black and white images were being sent home by Spirit, and the world was once again getting a look at our nearest neighbor. The most recent color images received from Spirit are the highest quality images of another planet ever acquired and provide a tantalizing promise that this will be an exciting and scientifically fruitful mission. The landing site in Gusev Crater was chosen as a location where surface geomorphology indicates the possibility that water was once present, causing both erosional and depositional features. The landing site also appears to be crisscrossed by dust devils' swaths that have removed the brighter albedo dust layer exposing darker gravels below. New imagery and data are being collected and down-linked each day, and team members at Flagstaff are awaiting the opportunity to drive the rover to nearby features and collect mineralogical and chemical data for the surrounding rocks and soil.

The Mars Exploration Rovers were launched toward Mars on June 10 and July 7, 2003, in a new attempt to acquire answers about the history of water on Mars. Primary among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The spacecraft are targeted to sites on opposite sides of Mars that appear to have been affected by liquid water in the past. The second landing site is at Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits (hematite) suggest Mars had a wet past.

On January 6, 2004 the first color image of the surface of Mars was obtained by the MER rover Spirit. The image was taken by the panoramic camera and is the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell University

Part of a series of NASA missions designed to explore Mars in the coming decade, MER will deliver two landers to the surface of Mars in early 2004, each carrying identical rovers and the imaging and sensor instruments of the Athena science payload. Athena instruments include the multispectral panoramic camera (Pancam), a broad-band microscopic imager (Microscopic Imager), a thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES), a rock scraper (Rock Abrasion Tool), and two instruments designed to measure the composition of rocks and soils (the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer or APXS, and the Mössbauer spectrometer). Provided by German research teams, the APXS will measure the concentrations of most of the major rock-forming elements, while the Mössbauer spectrometer will be used to identify minerals that contain iron. Equipped with all of these instruments, the twin rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project will be robotic field geologists, exploring Mars's climate history and searching for evidence of ancient, water-rich environments that could have supported Martian life, in the first five months of 2004.

A full scale model of a MER rover put together by Cornell grad students.

Two Astrogeology scientists, Larry Soderblom and Ken Herkenhoff are MER Co-Investigators with Ken also leading the Microscopic Imager team. Working under the leadership of Athena, science team members Ken Herkenhoff, Jeff Johnson, and Larry Soderblom; Astrogeology scientists; and staff members are assisting with calibration of all of the MER cameras, providing software tools for analyzing stereoscopic images from the Pancam and MI instruments and preparing in a variety of ways for analyses of MER image data in 2004.

To keep tabs on MER and the landers you can go to: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

From back left, Lisa Gaddis, Jeff Johnson, Larry Soderblom, and Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology Team from Flagstaff, AZ. Peter Smith from the University of Arizona-Tucson is sitting in the front left.