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Parks RobertJ Biography

American aerospace engineer, known as Bob, a pioneer in the space program where he directed for some of the most historic and important U.S. unmanned space missions. Over a 40-year tenure at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL/NASA), located in Pasadena, California, Parks’ impact was essential to helping the United Stated lead the world in space exploration. He served as Guidance Engineer for Explorer 1, the first successfully launched satellite by the United States. He directed the initial flyby missions to the Moon (Ranger 7, 8 and 9 Missions), the first soft landing on the moon (Surveyor Lunar Lander), the world’s first successful mission to another planet (Mariner 2 to Venus) and initial missions to Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus. Parks concluded his career as Deputy Director of the JPL/NASA and retired in 1987. Some of the awards he received for his work include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1967), the Stuart Ballantine Medal (1967), the Goddard Astronautics Award (1980) and the Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award in 1982. Parks died aged 89 on 3 June 2011. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less