Slice of History - Happy 90th Birthday, Carl Sagan!

Dr. Carl Sagan (9 November 1934-20 December 1996), often referred to as “the scientist who made the Universe clearer to the ordinary person,” was born 90 years ago! Sagan played a leading role in the American space program from its very beginning. He was a consultant and advisor to NASA beginning in the 1950s – he even briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon!

A self-described childhood science fiction addict, Sagan became fascinated with astronomy when he learned that every star in the night sky was a distant sun. This early scientific and cosmological curiosity led him to pursue four degrees in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics from the University of Chicago.

In his role as Visiting Scientist at JPL, Sagan helped design and manage the Mariner 2 mission to Venus, the Mariner 9 and Viking 1 and 2 trips to Mars, the Voyager 1 and 2 missions to the outer solar system, and the Galileo mission to Jupiter. His research helped to solve the mysteries of the high temperature of Venus, the seasonal changes on Mars, and the reddish haze of Titan. In cooperation with former Lab Director, Dr. Bruce C. Murray, Sagan co-founded The Planetary Society in 1980, which today is an instrumental organization in influencing government decisions regarding spaceflight funding.

Sagan also made great strides in popularizing science through the writing of hundreds of articles and over two dozen books, even winning a Pulitzer Prize for his 1975 title “The Dragons of Eden.” Later, his television series “Cosmos” became one of the most-watched shows in public television history up to that time, viewed by over 500 million people in over 60 countries.

Carl Sagan continued to share his excitement and passion about the exploration of the universe until 20 December 1996, when complications from a rare bone marrow disease, Myelodysplasia, caused a bout of pneumonia that took his life at age 62. CL#23-6609

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