December 2, 2005

Trailblazing spirit propels Greeley's space adventures

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series of articles that examine the work, motivation and influence of some of ASU’s top researchers.

In 1991, somewhere in the vast expanse of space between Venus and Earth, the space probe Galileo experienced what NASA engineers somewhat understatedly referred to as an “anomaly.” Galileo’s main antenna had failed to deploy entirely, jeopardizing the multimillion-dollar mission – and its priceless opportunity to explore Jupiter and its moons.

Rather than lose hope, NASA researchers, including ASU Regents Professor Ron Greeley, massively reconfigured the equipment and procedures and found a way to transmit information using Galileo’s secondary, low-powered antenna. Thanks to the ingenuity of the NASA crew, Galileo was able to meet its mission objectives and relay images of Jupiter and its moons back to Earth.

“Anytime you’re dealing with spacecraft, despite the best effort of engineers and scientists, things do go wrong,” Greeley says. “We were able to extract success from the clutches of potential failure.”

That upbeat optimism comes naturally to Greeley, a born explorer who professed an early interest in the outdoors. His adventurer spirit carried him from the rocks to the stars and made him a trailblazer in the blossoming field of planetary geology.

As the son of a military serviceman, he had the opportunity to travel and explore the world. His interest in nature continued throughout his young life and led him to pursue a degree in geology from Missouri State University. Afterward, he received his doctorate from the School of Mining and Metallurgy (now University of Missouri-Rolla) in 1966. A year later, Greeley was called to military duty. Instead of heading to the front lines of Vietnam, he was recruited by NASA and assigned to the Ames Research Center in California as a research scientist.

At NASA-Ames, Greeley was involved in the Apollo project dedicated to putting a man on the moon. He helped train astronauts in fundamental planetary science.

“Working with the Apollo astronauts was an incredible experience,” Greeley says. “They were highly motivated, hard-working, extremely intelligent individuals with a sincere desire to understand the science of the moon.”

Greeley’s ambitions were realized when Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969.

“When the landing occurred, it was a dream come true,” Greeley says. “It’s still hard to imagine that humans have actually walked on another planet.”

After his military service was over, he continued working at NASA as a research associate, employing his geological expertise in the agency’s new focus: Mars.

Greeley’s research included planetary science topics like Martian volcanoes and wind studies, eventually leading to the creation of a multimillion-dollar laboratory used to simulate winds on Mars. The lab is run by ASU, with Greeley as director.

He also established a research consortium of atmospheric scientists, geologists and engineers that still exists to this day.

In 1975, NASA launched one of its most ambitious programs, the Viking Mission to Mars. Two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, traveled to Mars, each carrying an orbiter to fly around the planet to take pictures, as well as a lander to transmit close-up images and analyze samples of the surface and atmosphere.

Greeley was part of the orbiter imaging team responsible for choosing areas for the orbiters to take pictures and for identifying potential landing spots for the landers.

Ten months after the launch of Viking 1, the spacecraft’s lander became the first lander to touch down on Martian soil. Two months later, Viking 2’s lander also made a successful landing, beginning a six-year period of discovery that greatly enhanced scientists’ knowledge of Mars and its environment. For his contributions to the landing site analysis, Greeley was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal.

In 1977, a position opened up at ASU for a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences. The university was interested in establishing more independent research programs, Greeley says, and he jumped at the chance to teach and launch his own program.

When ASU offered him the position, Greeley packed up his lab at Ames in two moving vans and brought his equipment and research staff with him to ASU. The teaching environment was a breath of fresh air, he says.

“When I first arrived at ASU, I was delighted with the undergraduate students and their questions about space and solar system exploration,” Greeley says. “Those of us involved in research often lose sight of some of the basic fundamental questions – and the students have a marvelous aptitude for cutting to the chase.”

The transition from NASA researcher to college professor was relatively easy, Greeley says, because of his previous experience teaching undergraduate students part time at NASA.

But Greeley’s real passion in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences comes from working with graduate students and seeing them develop into professionals.

“As any professor will tell you, relationships with grad students evolve from being a mentor to becoming more equal collaborators,” Greeley says. “One of my biggest accomplishments is seeing my students placed all over the world to do research.”

Greeley’s research is focused on Mars exploration. He serves on a number of NASA committees and maintains a lab at the Ames Research Center. The lab facility, built by Greeley and co-operated by ASU and NASA, replicates conditions on Mars to test spacecraft components against Martian sand and dust storms.

In addition to materials testing, Greeley is involved in extraterrestrial geology research for almost all planetary investigative missions.

“We try and understand how surfaces on planets evolved geologically,” Greeley says. “We look at volcanoes, slabs of ice – anything that could be a habitat for potential life.”

Even though Greeley has been instrumental in some of humanity’s boldest forays into the final frontier, he remains awestruck and humbled by his opportunity to peer deep into our galactic backyard and witness firsthand the ever-expanding knowledge of space.

“This past quarter-century, we’ve seen every major planet in the solar system,” Greeley says. “We’re seeing things no one has seen before. It’s a real kick to be new world explorers.”