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People in Astronomy Contents INTERVIEWS Jeff Hoffman p.3 Carolyn Porco p.6 Gibor Basri p.10 Sandra Faber p.13 3 People in Astronomy How did you enjoy being in space? JEFF HOFFMAN are used to working on mountaintops, and spaceAnswering is the as ultimate an astronomer mountaintop. first, astronomers Actually, for me, working on the Astro mission [a set of ultraviolet telescopes carried on a space shuttle] was unique, because my professional work had been x-ray astronomy using satellites, so I had never actually done anything with traditional optical-type telescope in my life was in space, buttelescopes. my three The astronomer-astronaut first time I guided colleagues an actual let me do it anyway. Since I had spent most of my professional career building x-ray telescopes Jeffrey Hoffman is a NASA Scientist-Astronaut. He grew up near New York City, and went into the city every month or so to visit the theto fly fun in of rockets being inand space satellites, goes beyond it was whatgratifying your American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden actualto fly with mission some is. telescopes No matter on what board. you Of are course, doing Planetarium. After graduating from Amherst up there, it is an incredible view, an incredible College (Amherst, Massachusetts) in 1966, feeling. But working as an astronomer on one he attended graduate school in astronomy at Harvard University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1971. satisfaction. He then worked in England with the x-ray of my space flights gave me a lot of professional astronomy group at the University of Leicester What did it feel like to repair the for 3 years. While in England, he married, and Hubble Space Telescope? returned to the United States, working at the his wife and he had their first child. Then he most important and challenging task of my 1978, he was selected by NASA as a scientist- entireFixing astronautthe Hubble career. Space It isTelescope easy in retrospect was the MIT Center for Space Research for 2 years. In to forget the incredible shock produced by the astronaut, and moved to Houston. He flew on the many ways the whole future of NASA’s human tospace repair shuttle a malfunctioning for the first time satellite. in 1985, In 1990 making he discovery of Hubble’s initial optical flaw, but in NASA’s first unplanned space walk in an attempt was on the mission that carried aloft the “Astro” show that astronauts working in space suits set of ultraviolet telescopes. During missions spaceflight program rested on our ability to it is quite possible that Congress would not type of space technology: the use of long tethers havecould givenfix the NASA problem. the Hadgo-ahead we not to succeeded, build the in 1992 and 1996, he conducted tests of a new in space to generate electricity and to change new International Space Station. We worked the orbits of satellites. In 1993, he was one of extremely hard training for the mission, spending the astronauts who repaired the Hubble Space over 400 hours underwater and countless weeks honestly say that we had done everything we Telescope. Hoffman is currently Professor of He is also director of the Massachusetts Space couldin simulators. think of When to ensure we finally the success took off, of I canthe Grantthe Practice Consortium. of Aeronautical Engineering at MIT. 4 many unexpected things that could go wrong no is increasingly an international activity, and it is mattermission. how Of course,hard we we trained. knew Inthat fact, there as things were usefulwas a bit to havelike being someone an ambassador. “on the scene” Spaceflight to work turned out, the most surprising thing about the mission was how few unpleasant surprises in the American Embassy in Paris, since the we had. headquarterswith our partner of spacethe European agencies. Space My office Agency was is located in Paris. My technical background were elated at having been able to accomplish and experience with international projects everyAt the one end of of the the tasks fifth andthat final we spacehad set walk, out we to during my various space missions gave me the weeks whether the new optics we installed had several European languages, which helps a lot. actuallydo. Of course, corrected we wouldHubble’s not vision. know Itfor was several New qualificationsNow, I have for entered this job. Inmy addition, fourth Icareer, speak following being an astronomer, astronaut, some astronomer friends working at the Space and diplomat, as a faculty member of the Year’s Eve when I finally got the news from Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics celebrateTelescope the Science new year! Institute that Hubble was I am now working more as an engineer than finally working flawlessly. What a great way to anat theastrophysicist, Massachusetts a resultInstitute of ofmy Technology. extensive How did you get to be an experience in space operations and design during my many years at NASA. We try to expose astronaut? our students to all the phases involved in space How did I originally decide I wanted to be an projects: conceiving, designing, constructing, testing, and operating. I bring to the department special personal experience in operating space inastronaut? astronomy That’s back been in the going Hayden on for Planetarium a long time, systems, which I try to share with students. In inever New since York I was City. a littleBut I kid. got Iinterested first got interested not only addition, I am involved in research projects using in astronomy but also in anything having to do the International Space Station as a test bed for new satellite control technology and trying to was no such thing as a real space program back develop more maneuverable space suits. with space, including rockets. Of course, there astronauts were all jet pilots, and that didn’t What would you most like to see appealthen, and to me, I wanted though to I was be aexcited scientist. by the The rocket first NASA do next? part of it. But when they announced that they needed Exploration in all its aspects is NASA’s primary scientists to be astronauts on the shuttle mission. We need to develop space telescopes program, I always knew that this was something even more powerful than Hubble to continue our I wanted to do, so I applied. exploration of the astronomical universe. I think the search for extra-solar planetary systems What do you do in aerospace and the search for life in the Universe is one now? millennium. Closer to home, we have a lot of exploringof the most to exciting do in our scientific own Solar goals System. of the Inew am particularly excited about searching for signs After I left flight status as an astronaut, I spent of life on Mars and Europa. And of course I am four years representing NASA in Europe. This interested in expanding human capability to spring from the same fascination at looking5 beyond where we are now, looking out from Station is the next step in this development. the Earth. I hope that we can keep the dream Makingtravel and all work this inhappen space. requiresThe International more reliable Space alive for the next generation so that they will and cheaper space transportation, which is also be able to live out some of their dreams as well, one of NASA’s main goals. whether they are studying through telescopes or travelling outside the Earth. What message do you have for students? What comments do you have about the crewed space program? First of all, I like to try to spread an ecological message that we have to take care of the Earth, our planetary home in space. We get a lot of Space is a hazardous environment, unforgiving responses to pictures that we take of the Earth ofI never human felt errors that spaceor mechanical flight was failures. without People risk. from space, particularly where we can show have died exploring the oceans, the mountains, the environmental changes taking place on the and the polar regions of the Earth, but it is planet. Kids really seem to respond to that. We part of the human spirit to push onward and get disturbing sequences of pictures taken over most exciting aspects of the past half-century. the Amazon, the encroaching desert in sub- Ioutward. wish we The had exploration a way to get of into space and is backone of from the Saharanthe last 15Africa, years and showing land erosion the deforestation in Madagascar, of space more safely, but I think it is important to one environmental disaster after the other, continue. We owe it to the next generation. which you can see better from space than from anywhere else. I also like to talk to young people about the fact that you can study physics and astronomy and apply it in numerous different ways other than just becoming a professional astronomer. For instance, I can show my younger son, who is thinking about what he wants to do after university, two examples of friends of mine from and moved to biology and one was in applied mathematicsgraduate school. and Onealso movedof them to started biology, in and physics both do a lot of work in environmental science. Both developed the skills of mathematical analysis and facility with computers, which we use all the time to model complex systems in astronomy. I me to cut to the heart of problems in a way that someoften findpeople that who my training were trained as a physicist as engineers allows stress is the fact that my inspiration to become ansometimes astronomer don’t anddo.