Donald Pettit
Encyclopedia
Donald Roy Pettit is an American
chemical engineer
and a NASA
astronaut
. He is a veteran of a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station
and a six-week expedition to find meteorite
s in Antarctica.
, and is an Eagle Scout
. He earned a bachelor's degree
in chemical engineering
from Oregon State University
in 1978 and a doctoral degree from the University of Arizona
in 1983. He worked as a scientist as the Los Alamos National Laboratory
until 1996, when he was selected as an astronaut candidate. He is married and has two sons.
in 2002 and 2003. During his six-month stay aboard the space station, he performed two EVA
s to help install external scientific equipment. During free time on his stay aboard the International Space Station
, he conducted demonstrations showing how fluids react in an extremely low gravity environment in a series he called "Saturday Morning Science".
Pettit was Mission Specialist 1 on the STS-126
mission to deliver equipment and supplies to the ISS. He spent 15 days 20 hours 29 minutes and 37 seconds on board Endeavour.
Pettit also performed experiments on board ISS related to clumping of solid particles in microgravity. The experiments showed that particles of various materials which varied in size between 1 micrometer and 6 mm naturally clumped together in microgravity when confined to a volume of 4 liters that included a few grams of the materials. The cause was theorized to be electrostatic. This presents a plausible mechanism for the initial stages of planetary formation, since particles of this size do not have sufficient gravity to cause this phenomenon.
Pettit is scheduled to return to ISS in late December 2011 as part of the Expedition 30
crew.
; the device compensates for the movement of the ISS relative to the Earth's surface, permitting sharper high resolution images of city lights at night from the orbiting space station.
In November 2008, Pettit invented a zero-g coffee cup, which used the wetting angle to carry the coffee along a crease to permit drinking and avoid the necessity of a straw. This zero-g cup was featured in the May 2009 National Geographic Magazine
issue, along with his notes on the relation of the internal cup angle to the contact wetting angle for various construction materials.
(ANSMET), spending six weeks in the Antarctic summer collecting meteorite samples, including a lunar meteorite. During the expedition, he was called on to perform emergency electrical repairs to a snowmobile and emergency dental surgery. Periods of tent-confining inclement weather were spent continuing his Saturday Morning Science series—"on Ice"—with photographic surveys of crystal sizes of glacial ice samples and collections of magnetic micrometeorites from ice melt used for cooking water. (He estimated Antarctic glacial ice to contain roughly 1 micrometeorite per liter
.)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
and a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
. He is a veteran of a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
and a six-week expedition to find meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s in Antarctica.
Personal
Pettit was raised in Silverton, OregonSilverton, Oregon
Silverton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, and is an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
. He earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
from Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
in 1978 and a doctoral degree from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 1983. He worked as a scientist as the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
until 1996, when he was selected as an astronaut candidate. He is married and has two sons.
International Space Station
Pettit's first space mission was as a mission specialist on ISS Expedition 6Expedition 6
Expedition 6 was the sixth expedition to the International Space Station. It was the last three man crew to reside on the station until the arrival of STS-121...
in 2002 and 2003. During his six-month stay aboard the space station, he performed two EVA
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
s to help install external scientific equipment. During free time on his stay aboard the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
, he conducted demonstrations showing how fluids react in an extremely low gravity environment in a series he called "Saturday Morning Science".
Pettit was Mission Specialist 1 on the STS-126
STS-126
-Crew notes:Originally scheduled to fly on STS-126 was Joan E. Higginbotham, who was a mission specialist on STS-116. On 21 November 2007, NASA announced a change in the crew manifest due to Higginbotham's decision to leave NASA to take a job in the private sector. Stephen G...
mission to deliver equipment and supplies to the ISS. He spent 15 days 20 hours 29 minutes and 37 seconds on board Endeavour.
Pettit also performed experiments on board ISS related to clumping of solid particles in microgravity. The experiments showed that particles of various materials which varied in size between 1 micrometer and 6 mm naturally clumped together in microgravity when confined to a volume of 4 liters that included a few grams of the materials. The cause was theorized to be electrostatic. This presents a plausible mechanism for the initial stages of planetary formation, since particles of this size do not have sufficient gravity to cause this phenomenon.
Pettit is scheduled to return to ISS in late December 2011 as part of the Expedition 30
Expedition 30
Expedition 30 is the 30th and current long-duration mission to the International Space Station . The expedition's first three crew members – Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin – arrived on the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-22 on 16 November 2011, during the last phase of...
crew.
Inventions/innovations
During Expedition 6 in 2002/2003, Pettit used spare parts found throughout the Station to construct a barn door trackerBarn door tracker
A barn door tracker, also known as a Haig or Scotch mount, is a device used to cancel out the diurnal motion of the Earth for the observation or photography of astronomical objects. It is a simple alternative to attaching a camera to a motorized equatorial mount.-History:The barn door tracker was...
; the device compensates for the movement of the ISS relative to the Earth's surface, permitting sharper high resolution images of city lights at night from the orbiting space station.
In November 2008, Pettit invented a zero-g coffee cup, which used the wetting angle to carry the coffee along a crease to permit drinking and avoid the necessity of a straw. This zero-g cup was featured in the May 2009 National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
issue, along with his notes on the relation of the internal cup angle to the contact wetting angle for various construction materials.
Antarctica
From November 2006 through January 2007, Pettit joined the Antarctic Search for MeteoritesANSMET
ANSMET is a program funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation that looks for meteorites in the Transantarctic Mountains. This geographical area serves as a collection point for meteorites that have originally fallen on the extensive high-altitude ice fields...
(ANSMET), spending six weeks in the Antarctic summer collecting meteorite samples, including a lunar meteorite. During the expedition, he was called on to perform emergency electrical repairs to a snowmobile and emergency dental surgery. Periods of tent-confining inclement weather were spent continuing his Saturday Morning Science series—"on Ice"—with photographic surveys of crystal sizes of glacial ice samples and collections of magnetic micrometeorites from ice melt used for cooking water. (He estimated Antarctic glacial ice to contain roughly 1 micrometeorite per liter
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
.)