It is considered the “mother” of Landsat, these satellites which have captured a complete image of the Earth every 16 days since 1972.
Her guidance counselor had recommended that she become a librarian and she was ousted following three interviews with an arms manufacturer who preferred to hire a man. The American Virginia Norwood has nevertheless become one of the pioneers of aerospace. She died on March 26 at the age of 96, NASA announced. in a press release.
Virginia Norwood held a founding role in the Landsat program. These satellites which move at a speed of 700km/h around the Earth and which capture a complete image of our planet every 16 days, for more than 50 years. The Landsat program has thus mapped very precisely the consequences of climate change.
In the late 1960s, NASA and the Geological Survey teamed up to send satellites into space to take pictures to monitor Earth’s resources. Then employed at Hughes Aircraft Company, Virginia Norwood will design a multi-spectral scanner, an essential part to capture images that can be used from space. The first Landsat was launched into space on July 23, 1972.
Two days later, the satellite returned the first images, of the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma. The results are considered astounding.
Woman in a man’s environment
Virginia Norwood was primarily responsible for the design and promotion of the project. A pioneer, especially as a woman in her field, she said in a video published by NASA, “to be known as the person who can solve impossible problems”. From an early age, his military father encouraged him to study math and physics.
During an interview at Sikorsky Aircraft, she asked for a salary corresponding to the lowest income in the civil service. A request, however, refused by the company, which did not wish to pay a woman at this level, however modest.
In the 1980s, she then oversaw the development of Landsat 2, 3, 4 and 5. Currently, versions 8 and 9 are in orbit around the earth, and NASA plans to launch Landsat 10 in 2030. In November 2021 , the US Geological Survey awarded him its John Wesley Powell Prize.
Multiple tributes
Tributes were paid to her on the announcement of her death, including that of climatologist Claire Parkinson: “It is wonderful that, as she nears the end of her life, Virginia has seen that her work has been honored with multiple manners”.
NASA paid tribute to her in a tweet: “We are saddened by the passing of Virginia Norwood, known to many as the ‘mother of Landsat’. Virginia Norwood’s ingenuity made possible the first Landsat mission, and his legacy lives on for 50 years in this program for the people who work there.”
