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28th of January 2021
COSPAR Award to Ken McCracken
The 43rd COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) Scientific Assembly will be held as a virtual event hosted in Sydney from January 28th to February 4th. A number of awards are made at each General Assembly and the COSPAR Space Science Award for outstanding contributions to space science is shared by William J. Borucki of NASA, and Ken McCracken, formerly of CSIRO.

Ken began his career in space science at the University of Tasmania where he developed the four station Australian neutron monitor network for the International Geophysical Year 1957-8. He went on to work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, and the University of Adelaide, before joining CSIRO in 1970 and becoming Chief of the CSIRO Division of Mineral Physics from 1972-84 and Director of the CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications from 1984-89. Ken received the CSIRO medal in 1988 for leadership in space activities in Australia and for achievement in geophysics research, and shared the Australia Prize in 1995. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1989. Ken's autobiography, Blast Off, was published in 2008, and Minor Planet (8258) has been named McCracken in his honour. His unique multi-faceted career in cosmic ray and heliospheric research, X-ray astronomy, interplanetary archeology, plus his economically important application of space science and technology to mineral exploration makes him extremely well qualified to receive the COSPAR Space Science Award.




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