Mario Acuña (March 12, 1940 – March 5, 2009) was an Argentine research scientist at

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

in the Space Plasmas and Planetary Magnetospheres Branches, and then as a Senior Astrophysicist. He was a major pioneer in the field of planetary magnetism.

Biography

As a result of political unrest in Argentina, particularly in and around Universities, Dr. Acuña left Argentina and became a permanent resident of the United States of America. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in April 1994. He earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in humanities and economics from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, an MSEE degree from the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán in 1967, and a Ph.D. in

Space Physics Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of naturally occurring plasmas within Earth's upper atmosphere and the rest of the Solar System. It includes the topics of aeronomy, aurorae, planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, ...

from the Catholic University of America in 1974.

Career

Positions held

Acuña was a principal investigator on

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

experiments flown on numerous missions over the years, from the

Pioneer 11 ''Pioneer 11'' (also known as ''Pioneer G'') is a NASA robotic space probe launched on April 5, 1973, to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, the solar wind, and cosmic rays. It was the first probe to Exploration ...

Fluxgate Magnetometer Experiment in 1973 to the

Mars Global Surveyor ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It launched November 1996 and collected data from 1997 to 2006. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined ...

Magnetic Field Experiment in 1994, and the

MESSENGER Messenger, Messengers, The Messenger or The Messengers may refer to: People * Courier, a person or company that delivers messages, packages, or mail * Messenger (surname) * Bicycle messenger, a bicyclist who transports packages through cities * M ...

magnetometer. He was one of the leaders NASA delegation who visited

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in July 1987 to start the collaboration between NASA and CNIE (the predecessor of

CONAE The National Space Activities Commission (Spanish language , Spanish: ''Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales'', CONAE) is the civilian agency of the government of Argentina in charge of the national space programme. History Sociedad ...

Contributions

Dr. Acuña is best known for his work in Planetary magnetism and his contributions leading to the discovery of Jupiter's ring, as well as the magnetic field of Mars. His research laboratory was involved in the

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) monitors meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics for the United States Department of Defense. The program is managed by the United States Space Force with on-orbit operat ...

in which they collected weather data for the military, as well as leading the world in development of scientific instruments that measure physical phenomena.

Awards

Dr. Acuña has received many awards including the Moe Schneebaum Memorial Award in 1979, the

NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal The NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (abbrv. ESAM) was established by NASA on September 15, 1961, when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under its guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually significant scien ...

in 1986, the

NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...

in 1996, the John C. Lindsay Memorial Award in 1999,John C. Lindsay Memorial Award Recipient List
/ref> and the Presidential Rank Meritorious Award in 2003.

Death and legacy

Dr. Acuña died March 5, 2009, aged 68, of

Multiple Myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

at his home in

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County; i ...

Dr. Acuña's blog
is occasionally updated by his family members, and documents some of the personal experiences of dealing with his illness.

References

External links

Super Mario's Blog

Mario Acuña
at Lunar and Planetary Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Acuna, Mario 1940 births 2009 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States Catholic University of America alumni Argentine emigrants to the United States Argentine astrophysicists Deaths from cancer in Maryland Hispanic and Latino American physicists