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Brian John O'Brien
image of O'Brien smiling after his 1953 cave rescue
O'Brien smiling after his 1953 cave rescue
Born1934
DiedAugust 7, 2020
NationalityAustralia
Alma materSydney University
Known forresearch into lunar dust, work on the Apollo 11 Mission
SpouseAvril O'Brien
Children3
AwardsNASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement
Scientific career
InstitutionsNASA
Websitehttps://www.brianjobrien.com

Brian John O'Brien AO FTSE (c. 1934 – August 7, 2020) was an Australian physicist and space scientist best known for advancing the study of moon dust through experiments placed on the moon during the Apollo Program.[1] He was a professor of space science at Rice University, Houston, from 1963 to 1968, and was made adjunct professor of physics at the University of Western Australia in 2009.[2] He headed the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia, and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) in 1993.[3] During his life, he was considered "Earth's foremost authority on moondust," and helped revive interest in the study of lunar soil in the twenty first century.[1]

Early life

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As a teenager, O'Brien became interested in caving as a hobby, and joined the Sydney University Speleological Society (SUSS) as a first-year student. When he was 19 years old, in 1953, he became lost in the Yarrangobilly Caves,[4] which made national news at the time.[5][6] He had scratched out his will on a rock wall in the cave, believing he was going to die there.[7] His older brother Terry later stated "There were half a dozen search parties and about 35 to 40 men searching the bloody place for almost 3 days, and they could never even find each other except at the bloody entrance."[8] After 79 hours, he was found by a search party of five men, who briefly got lost again while trying to get him out.[1] The experience did not stop his love of caving, and when he was 21 he met his late wife Dr Avril Searle while exploring a crystal grotto.[1][9]

Brian O'Brien embracing his aunt
O'Brien embracing his aunt, Miss Vera Hoban, after his 1953 cave rescue

During his senior year in university, O'Brian invented, but failed to patent, a "thermoelectric cascade cooling system" with a friend, and later invented and patented a unique design for an electric fridge. After his patent expired nine years later due to apparent neglect, his design became widely used in Australia, but O'Brian received no royalties.[10] In 1956, he was elected president of the Sydney University Speleological Society, and also became the inaugural President of the Australian Speleological Federation (ASF) from 1956-58. In 1957, he received a PhD in Physics from the University of Sydney.[8]

Career

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In 1958, O'Brian served as Deputy Chief Physicist with the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) in Antarctica, on the icebreaker Magga Dan.[1][8][11] In interviews discussing his reasons for joining the space program later in Life, O'Brian cited his experience seeing auroras in the Antarctic: "I realized the only way I could understand the causes of auroras would be to put a satellite on top,” he said.[3]

In 1959, James Van Allen noticed O'Brien's work, and invited him to become Assistant Professor, and then Associate professor, at the State University of Iowa.[10] Within his first year he was placed in charge of experiments onboard the NASA satellite Explorer 7, and was later put in charge of Explorer 12 and Explorer 14 as well. Using the instruments onboard the Explorer 12 satellite, O'Brien discovered that James Van Allen had overestimated the density of charged particles in the Van Allen radiation belt by a factor of over 1,000.[10] With the help of a group of six students, O'Brien built the satellite Injun 1 from scratch in five months, which successfully reached orbit in June 1961.[1] Injun 1's instruments definitively established that the aurora is caused by charged particles, and in 1962 picked up an artificial belt of radioactive particles caused by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test, which had caused three other satellites to break down.[12][13] Injun 1 itself was not harmed, because O'Brien had, in order to save money, bought used solar cells which could not be degraded any further than they already were.[10][14]

image of the Injun 2 satellite
the Injun 2 satellite before its failed launch

In 1963, O'Brien and his team launched the heavier Injun 3 satellite, (the Injun 2 had crashed with an Australian threepence onboard which O'Brien had included for good luck),[10] which provided data proving that the aurora formed below the Van Allen radiation belts. Injun 3 also included scientific tools which allowed for a far greater understanding of the belts themselves, and discovered a unique dawn chorus, an electromagnetic phenomenon named for sounding like birds chirping to researchers.[15] O'Brien also found that Injun 3's light sensors showed jumps in its readings when flying over large American cities, providing early data on light pollution visible from space.[10]

Later the same year, O'Brien was appointed Professor of Space Science at Rice University, where he taught from 1963 to 1968.[16][17] During his time there, he helped build , launching 9 auroral rockets and the satellite Aurora 1.[18]

(from https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/owls-in-space-Rice-university.pdf): One of the lab’s first projects was a contract with NASA to design and build six rocket payloads to be launched atop Nike-Cajun rockets. The payloads were named in honor of Rice’s mascot Sammy the Owl, making them Sammy 1, 2, 3, and so on. Sammy 1 was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, on January 14, 1964, to the cheers of a number of alumni who flew to Virginia to see Rice’s first space traveler (albeit a mechanical one). The rocket reached an altitude of 90 km, and Sammy 1 functioned according to plan, sending back data to waiting Rice graduate students on the ground. The remaining Sammies (2 through 6), with more complex equipment to study the auroras, were launched successfully that winter and the next from Fort Churchill in Canada. A report on the flight of Sammy 5 dated March 23, 1964, recorded “a complete success” with “three beautiful flights into auroral conditions which were very satisfactory.” The Sammy payloads made pioneering studies of the auroras, and they provided valuable design and launch experience for the students, some of whom earned their degrees based upon these projects and went on to contribute to the study of space during their careers through research and teaching.....Back in the Satellite Techniques Lab, Brian O’Brien and the Space Science students built a Navy-funded satellite to conduct further research on the auroras and the Earth’s magnetosphere. Called Aurora 1, the satellite was put into orbit in June 1967....NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon (11, 12, and 14 through 17) included scientific equipment designed to be left on the moon by the astronauts. The Space Science faculty and students designed three different instruments that were included in these Apollo payloads. John Freeman’s Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment (SIDE) was set-up on the moon by Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 astronauts. The Charged-Particle Lunar Environment Experiment (CPLEE) developed by Brian J. O’Brien was on the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) payload for Apollo 13, and was deployed on the moon by Alan Shepard on the Apollo 14 mission. The CPLEE was, in fact, an electronic ancestor to equipment developed for the Aurora 1 satellite. The Dust Detector Experiment (DDE), also developed by O’Brien, was perhaps the most noteworthy experiment of the three. The matchbox-size detector weighed just 270 grams, and was one of only two experiments placed on the moon during the historic landing of Apollo 11 (the other was a seismology monitoring device). The DDE was also deployed on Apollo missions 12, 14, and 15. Data sent back to scientists on Earth showed dust accretion was a significant problem on the moon’s surface—research that is still important today as NASA plans new missions to the moon. Transmissions from the DDE ended only when NASA turned off all the ALSEP equipment in December 1977, although these small pieces of Rice remain on the moon today, much like the footprints of twelve men who also made the long journey from Houston.....Brian O’Brien specifically was asked to serve on a NASA commission to discuss radiation dangers to the astronauts.


Dust Detection Experiment

Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment (CPLEE)

[from https://cavesaustralia.caves.org.au/archive/v107161/ac_160.pdf]

Dr O'Brien was born in Sydney in 1934 and graduated BSc (Hons) and PhD in Physics from the University of Sydney. After a brief period as Deputy Chief Physicist with the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition in 1958-59, he joined the faculty of the University of Iowa before an appointment as Professor of Space Science at Rice University from 1963-68. From 1971-77 he was the Foundation Director and Chairman of the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia, later becoming Managing Director of Brian J O’Brien and Associates Pty Ltd, and founding Greening Australia (WA). Brian was Principal Investigator for 6 experiments on the Moon, 4 complete satellites, and 9 satellite rocket payloads. His awards include the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Research and Fellow of the Austratian Academy of Applied Sciences and Technological Engineering. President of SUSS in his university days, he was the inaugural President of the Australian Speleological Federation from 1956-58.

Personal life

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[from https://www.9news.com.au/national/moon-landings-anniversary-50-nasa-australian-scientist-brian-obrien-perth/86728b45-36e4-4f86-8792-eef591a31b5e]

Prof O’Brien also spent time with both Neil Armstrong, and Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon.

And despite his out-of-this-world career, touchingly, his says meeting his late wife Dr Avril, remains his greatest achievement.

The pair met while caving - a hobby which once saw the professor get lost in a cave for days before he was rescued.

“I was once asked what was the biggest discovery was, and I replied with some sincerity, was finding Avril in a cave," he said.

“That’s when we started our romance. She was 17, I was 21.

“She was by far the biggest discovery, plus the children that followed.”

Honors and awards

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Select bibliography

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(((((He is best known for his "research into lunar dust and the challenges it presents for exploration of the Moon." He "highlighted how hazardous it was for astronauts and their equipment."[19] Five experiments designed by him were placed on the moon by the Apollo 11 Mission. One measured radiation, the others were concerned with moon dust.[2]

O'Brien also designed the Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment (CPLEE), placed on the lunar surface by the Apollo 14 mission as part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP).[20]

After studying physics at Sydney University, O'Brien worked as a physicist in Antarctica. There he saw the aurora australis, which led to his space career.[3]

He was a NASA principal investigator. For his radiation experiment, he was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. He was the first Australian so awarded.[2]

O'Brien was a professor of space science at Rice University, Houston, from 1963 to 1968, and adjunct professor of physics at the University of Western Australia.[2]

He later moved to Perth with his wife, Avril, and headed the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia.[3]

O'Brien was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)[2] in 1993.

He died on 7 August 2020, aged 86.[2]

O'Brien was posthumously made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.[21])))))

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Moondust Could Cloud Our Lunar Ambitions". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e f O'Brien, Brian (July 2009). ""Dream with me, please" – remembering Brian O'Brien, who reached for the moon". atse.org.au. Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. Retrieved 23 December 2020. Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald
  3. ^ a b c d Sara, Swain (6 July 2019). "Exclusive: Aussie scientist's special moon landings mission". www.9news.com.au. Nine Digital Pty Ltd. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  4. ^ Brian J. O'Brien: the moon, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2017-03-28, retrieved 2021-02-15
  5. ^ "The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954) - 16 Dec 1953 - p1". Trove. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. ^ "The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954) - 18 Dec 1953 - p1". Trove. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  7. ^ Levine, Joel S. (January 12, 2021). The Impact of Lunar Dust on Human Exploration. Cambridge Scholars Publisher. pp. xvi. ISBN 978-1-5275-6308-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  8. ^ a b c O'Brien, Brian (December 2003). "Caving: Risk Management; Dreams and Visions" (PDF). Australian Caver. 160: 6–15.
  9. ^ "How a young Aussie scientist solved the mystery of moon dust on the Apollo mission 50 years ago". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Symons, Michael (July 5, 1969). "BACK TO SYDNEY COMES ONE OF MESSEL'S MEN". The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Brian's Career". Brian J O'Brien. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  12. ^ Hess, Wilmot N. (September 1964). "The Effects of High Altitude Explosions" (PDF). NASA. NASA TN D-2402. Retrieved 2007-10-07. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ^ O'brien, B. J.; Laughlin, C. D.; Van Allen, J. A. (1962-09-08). "Geomagnetically Trapped Radiation Produced by a High-Altitude Nuclear Explosion on July 9, 1962". Nature (London). 195 (4845). doi:10.1038/195939a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  14. ^ "Auroras and Satellites". Brian J O'Brien. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  15. ^ "Explorer's Legacy". explorer.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  16. ^ "Brian's Story". Brian J O'Brien. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  17. ^ Cannon, Jessica A. (2008). "OWLS IN SPACE: RICE UNIVERSITY'S CONNECTIONS TO NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER" (PDF). Houston History.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Guide to the Aurora I and Owl Satellite records UA 381". legacy.lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  19. ^ "UWA physicist leaves behind stellar legacy". www.uwa.edu.au. University of Western Australia. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment (CPLEE)". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  21. ^ "The late Dr Brian John O'BRIEN - Officer of the Order of Australia". honours.pmc.gov.au. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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