Bernard Foing | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | Ecole Normale Supérieure of Education & Technology [1] |
Known for | Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1 |
Spouse | Pascale Ehrenfreund |
Bernard Foing is a French scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), [2] Executive Director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) [3] and was Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1, the first European mission to the Moon. [4] He is also a research professor at the VU Amsterdam and at Florida Tech. [5]
Born in France, [1] Bernard Foing has a PhD in Astrophysics and Space Techniques. [6] He worked 3 years in Chile as an astronomer for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), [6] the French embassy, and as Professor of Astrophysics. [1] A researcher at French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) since 1986, [7] Foing obtained the Habilitation for direction of research in 1990. [7] At ESA since 1993, he is Senior Research Coordinator at the Research and Scientific Support Department. [6] He was president of ILEWG in 1998-2000 and now is their Executive Director. [6] Foing collaborates with his wife, Pascale Ehrenfreund of the German Aerospace Center, in some of his research. [8]
Foing is known as the father of SMART-1. [3] [9] Serving as Principal Project Scientist from conception in 1996, [4] SMART-1 was the first European mission to the Moon. [10] SMART-1's goals were both technological and scientific. [11] First in a series of "Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology", [11] SMART-1 was used to test new state-of-the art instruments such as a solar-electric primary propulsion system. [12] SMART-1 also performed scientific observations of the Moon including determining the Moon's mineralogical composition and the presence and quantity of water in the craters at the Moon's south pole. [12] Launched on September 27, 2003, [13] SMART-1 entered lunar orbit in November 2004 [14] and continued orbit until it was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface on September 3, 2006. [15] [16] Said Foing, "SMART-1 data are helping to choose future landing sites for robotic and possible manned missions, and its instruments are upgraded and being flown again on the next generation of lunar satellites." [17]
Foing is an organic chemist for Mars Express, [18] a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency. [19] Launched on June 2, 2004, [20] Mars Express is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. [19] Foing is also co-investigator of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) for the Mars Express orbiter. [21] The HRSC is a high-resolution camera that can make full-color 3-D images of Mars's surface. [22] The camera can also zoom in for a closer look and may be helpful in identifying useful landing sites for future Mars missions. [22]
Foing has published over 400 articles, including 160 refereed papers, in lunar and planetary science and exploration, solar/stellar physics and astrobiology. [1] He edited 16 books and organized over 50 international conferences and symposia. [1]