Former NASA Scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died

A former NASA chief scientist Dr. Noel W. Hinners died on 5 September 2014 due to brain tumor. He was 78.

He was involved in the scientific exploration of the moon for the Apollo program and later oversaw projects such as the Mars Surveyor Program.

About Noel Hinner

Hinners began his meteoric space career in 1963 by helping plan the lunar exploration and was just 33 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. He worked on the Apollo program until 1972, when he became the space agency’s director of lunar programs.

He later served as the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and the director of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He retired from NASA as its third-ranking executive.

At Lockheed Martin, Hinners was vice president of flight systems whose responsibilities included NASA’s Mars Surveyor Program and Stardust, the first program dedicated to exploring a comet.

He was a member of the NRC Space Studies Board (1981-1982 & 1989-1996) and chaired its Committee on Human Exploration.