Merton E. Davies (September 13, 1917 – April 17, 2001) was a pioneer of America's space program, first in earth reconnaissance and later in planetary exploration and mapping. He graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1938 and worked for the

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

corporation in the 1940s. He worked as a member of

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after it split off from Douglas in 1948 and for the remainder of his career.

Career

National reconnaissance (1947–1970)

Davies' early work was highly classified and included original analyses of materials, payloads, structures, and propulsion systems for missiles and spacecraft. Davies, along with

Amrom Harry Katz Amrom Harry Katz (August 15, 1915 – February 10, 1997) was an American physicist who specialized in aerial reconnaissance as well as satellite technology. Katz developed methods for aerial reconnaissance supported by space satellites. His wor ...

, were early advocates of the United States' development of balloon and reconnaissance satellite technology (including

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). Davies made key contributions to US intelligence operations during critical periods of the Cold War. He was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Surprise Attack Conference in Geneva in 1958 and was later a consultant to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. In 1966 he was awarded the George W. Goddard Award for distinguished contributions to photo reconnaissance. In 1967 he served as a U.S. Observer on an inspection of foreign bases in Antarctica under terms of the Antarctic Treaty. He was awarded the

Antarctic Service Medal The Antarctica Service Medal (ASM) was established by the United States Congress on July 7, 1960, under s:Public Law 86-600, Public Law 600 of the 86th United States Congress, 86th Congress. The medal was intended as a awards and decorations of ...

by the U.S. Navy. On August 18, 2000, Davies was acknowledged as one of the ten Founders of National Reconnaissance by the

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

for his leadership in advocating the use of satellites for national reconnaissance and inventing the Spin-Pan (

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

compensating) camera concept. The other original Founders were:

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. Although their early work was highly classified, this group of men went on to extraordinary public accomplishments, including a Secretary of Defense, a Nobel Laureate, a president of MIT, recipients of the Presidential Medal of Science, a renowned planetary scientist, and more.

Planetary exploration (1965–2001)

In 1965 he participated in the first Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) attempt to fly to Mars a tiny primitive spacecraft carrying the world's first digital camera, Mariner 4, and the follow-on Mars flyby missions, Mariners 6 and 7. Then he went on to an unparalleled career in planetary exploration. He was a key member of the imaging teams of Mariners 6, 7, 9, and 10, of Voyagers 1 and 2 and

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and Cassini, of NEAR and Magellan. He was responsible for creating the geodetic control network for the mapping of the surface of Mars, and thus had the honor of establishing its prime meridian. As described by Tobias Owen for the American Astronomical Society: "Before launch, he participated in the design of the camera systems and the development of imaging strategies. When the data came in, it was Mert who established the coordinate systems for all of the target objects. The maps we have of Mercury, Venus, Mars and the satellites of the outer planets are all based on his work in establishing the point of zero longitude or the prime meridian for each object. As Bruce Murray has commented, to do so for even one such object would be a "major career achievement by any scientist," but to be credited for having done so for essentially every large solid object in the solar system except Earth and Pluto provides "an instructive lens through which to view Davies accomplishment."(EOS, 82, 46(13 November 2001):551–552.) He invented the photogrammetric control point technique that provided the basic framework for all planetary surface mapping and coordinates systems of his era. His fundamental contributions to planetary mapping led to his being the founding chairman of the IAU/IAG Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements of the Planets and Satellites in 1976. At about this same time, he became a member of the newly created task groups reporting to the IAU Working Group for Planetary and Satellite Nomenclature.Davies, M. E., and T. R. Colvin, "Lunar Coordinates in the Regions of the Apollo Landers," Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 105, E8, pp. 20,277-20,280, 2000. He received the Talbert Abrams Award of the American Society of Photogrammetry in 1974. In 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. At the time of his death, he was credited with "single-handedly observing more of the solar system than any other human," by Torrence Johnson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory project scientist of Project Galileo. The Martian crater Davies is named after him. It is situated on the prime meridian, appropriate because Davies established its location.

References

* Davies, M. E., and B. C. Murray, The View from Space, New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1971. *

External links

American Astronomical Society Obituary
* ttp://www.nro.gov/news/press/2000/2000-07.pdf National Reconnaissance Press release {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Merton 1917 births 2001 deaths American astronomers Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park Stanford University alumni RAND Corporation people