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A native of England, Scott, a civil engineering professor at Caltech, specialized in soils. Caltech runs NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which has primary responsibility for unmanned space probes. In the early 1960s, JPL was tasked to land several probes on the moon in preparation for the manned Apollo moon landings. One big question NASA had: would the lunar soil support the weight of a manned spacecraft, or would Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sink to their deaths in loose dust? JPL launched several probes called Surveyor. Scott designed a system for Surveyor to scoop up and evaluate the surface conditions to ensure the astronauts would survive their trip. Based on experiments done by Surveyor 3 in 1967 and Surveyor 7 in 1968, Dr. Scott concluded the lunar soil would in fact hold up to the weight of the astronauts and their landing craft. Everyone remembers Armstrong's first words when he stepped out on the soil, but his second words were for Scott: "I sink in about an eighth of an inch. I've left a print on the surface." He also helped analyze soil samples brought back from the moon. Scott's main work was perhaps of even greater import: he studied what soils did during earthquakes, helping to improve the earthquake survivability of buildings and dams. He died at home August 16 from cancer. He was 76. From This is True for 21 August 2005 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Tahir Rahman List Price: $39.50 Amazon Price: $28.44 Editorial Review: Nearly four decades ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left some mementos on the ancient lunar soil of the Sea of Tranquility. Among these was a small brittle silicon disc with microscopic messages of goodwill from 73 world leaders. In 1969, with only weeks left before the Apollo 11 liftoff, NASA worked feverishly on a crash project to miniaturize messages from American and world leaders to enshrine them on a material suited for the harsh environment of the Moon. This book reveals a never-before-told story of the disc, along with many rare and astounding photographs.  By: Richard Platt List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $19.79 How America Faked The Moon Landings By: Charles T. Hawkins List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $14.76 Editorial Review: A fascinating in-depth account of how NASA and the American government faked the Apollo Moon Landings of the 1960's and 70's. From the moonwalks and rover rides to the return splashdowns, every step of the way you will see how the event was staged here on earth. Unlike the other books that make allocations that the moon landings were fake, this is the only book that shows you exactly how it was done. The author's goal is to provide space enthusiasts around the globe with accurate historical reference what really happened and why the United States found it necessary to fake the moon landings. This book also contains many high-quality original NASA photos with obvious clues proving the moon landings were faked. These images include: astronauts with tears in their spacesuit, helmets open, and animals on the moon surface. El Primer Alunizaje/The First Moon Landing (Historias Graficas/Graphic Histor... By: Elizabeth Hudson-GoffDale Anderson List Price: $8.95 Amazon Price: $8.95  By: Dana Meachen Rau List Price: $7.95 Amazon Price: $7.95 |
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