Jens Martin Knudsen
Encyclopedia
Jens Martin Knudsen was a Danish
astrophysicist. During his scientific career Knudsen authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles, and was a long time advisor to NASA
.
, Denmark
. Knudsen was son to Haurum's merchant and grew up at the merchant's house together with his three brothers of whom Knudsen was the oldest. All of the brothers ended up becoming physicists.
and mathematics
from the University of Copenhagen
. Immediately after his degree Knudsen received a job invitation to MIT where he spent the next two years as a guest teacher.
From 1970 to 1973 he worked for UNESCO
as a teacher of mathematics in Turkey
and later in Brazil
. In Universidade de Brasília Knudsen worked with Mössbauer spectroscopy. There in Brazil Knudsen got a direct opportunity to compare the color of Mars in the night sky with the color of the local terrain. It made him wonder if there were common reasons for the near matched color.
After Knudsen returned to Denmark he concentrated his studies on meteorites, especially iron rich meteorites where Mössbauer spectroscopy is especially effective.
In 1990 Knudsen participated in a workshop called "The Environmental Model of Mars" in Hungary. One morning Knudsen had sat down at the morning table at the workshop and started an enthusiastic conversation why Mars exploration is especially important with two people unknown to him. It turned out that the two people was Agustin Chicarro who was ESA's Solar System Research Project Scientis and leading and George Scoon the chief designer of ESA's orbiter probes.
Both were thrilled about Knudsen's rhetoric and invited him to join a science team for a European probe to Mars. In one of these meetings two people from JPL heard Knudsen talk about Mössbauer spectroscopy Shortly after they invited him to JPL to talk about Mössbauer spectroscopy in a future Mars mission. At that conference in California Knudsen used the last 5 minutes and 45 seconds of his talk to present the idea of using an array of magnets with decreasing field strength as a sort of continuation on the magnetic experiment carried out on the Viking lander missions. This idea intrigued the conference and Knudsen was asked who they should talk to implement such an experiment: Knudsen said that he would call Robert B. Hargraves who had been Principal Investigator in the "Magnetic Properties Experiment" on the Viking mission.
Thanks to Knudsen the development of the magnet array experiment was granted to the University of Copenhagen.
In 1993 Knudsen became part of NASA's Mars team and shortly thereafter Knudsen established the Danish Mars Group together with Lise Vistisen and Morten Bo Madsen
.
Knudsen was the key part in the development of the Danish magnet experiment carried on the Mars Pathfinder
mission in 1996 which was meant to examine the magnetic properties of the Martian dust.
) on account of his great enthusiasm towards recent missions to the planet
Mars
.
In 2000 Knudsen was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog
In 2002 he was appointed Honorary Professor
of Planetary science
at the University of Aarhus
. At his death he was also Professor Emeritus at the Niels Bohr Institute
, University of Copenhagen
.
In 2003 Jens Kerte wrote a biography of Knudsen entitled Mars og Marsmanden (Mars and the Martian) which includes three interview
s with Knudsen himself.
Knudsen was highly regarded by his students, indeed after Knudsen's death in 2005 the students at the University of Copenhagen
wrote a song in his honor.
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...
astrophysicist. During his scientific career Knudsen authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles, and was a long time advisor to 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...
.
Early years
Knudsen was Born in Haurum near AarhusAarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Knudsen was son to Haurum's merchant and grew up at the merchant's house together with his three brothers of whom Knudsen was the oldest. All of the brothers ended up becoming physicists.
Physics
Originally educated as a school teacher, but in 1962 got his degree in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
. Immediately after his degree Knudsen received a job invitation to MIT where he spent the next two years as a guest teacher.
From 1970 to 1973 he worked for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as a teacher of mathematics in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and later in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. In Universidade de Brasília Knudsen worked with Mössbauer spectroscopy. There in Brazil Knudsen got a direct opportunity to compare the color of Mars in the night sky with the color of the local terrain. It made him wonder if there were common reasons for the near matched color.
After Knudsen returned to Denmark he concentrated his studies on meteorites, especially iron rich meteorites where Mössbauer spectroscopy is especially effective.
In 1990 Knudsen participated in a workshop called "The Environmental Model of Mars" in Hungary. One morning Knudsen had sat down at the morning table at the workshop and started an enthusiastic conversation why Mars exploration is especially important with two people unknown to him. It turned out that the two people was Agustin Chicarro who was ESA's Solar System Research Project Scientis and leading and George Scoon the chief designer of ESA's orbiter probes.
Both were thrilled about Knudsen's rhetoric and invited him to join a science team for a European probe to Mars. In one of these meetings two people from JPL heard Knudsen talk about Mössbauer spectroscopy Shortly after they invited him to JPL to talk about Mössbauer spectroscopy in a future Mars mission. At that conference in California Knudsen used the last 5 minutes and 45 seconds of his talk to present the idea of using an array of magnets with decreasing field strength as a sort of continuation on the magnetic experiment carried out on the Viking lander missions. This idea intrigued the conference and Knudsen was asked who they should talk to implement such an experiment: Knudsen said that he would call Robert B. Hargraves who had been Principal Investigator in the "Magnetic Properties Experiment" on the Viking mission.
Thanks to Knudsen the development of the magnet array experiment was granted to the University of Copenhagen.
In 1993 Knudsen became part of NASA's Mars team and shortly thereafter Knudsen established the Danish Mars Group together with Lise Vistisen and Morten Bo Madsen
Morten Bo Madsen
Morten Bo Madsen is a Danish physicist, associate professor at the Niels Bohr Institute. He is known for his engagement in Mars research and his public lectures bringing frontier science to the public....
.
Knudsen was the key part in the development of the Danish magnet experiment carried on the Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder was an American spacecraft that landed a base station with roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner.Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a...
mission in 1996 which was meant to examine the magnetic properties of the Martian dust.
Later years
In later years he became known as "Marsmanden" (the MartianMartian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
) on account of his great enthusiasm towards recent missions to the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
.
In 2000 Knudsen was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
In 2002 he was appointed Honorary Professor
Honorary title (academic)
Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...
of Planetary science
Planetary science
Planetary science is the scientific study of planets , moons, and planetary systems, in particular those of the Solar System and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation,...
at the University of Aarhus
University of Aarhus
Aarhus University , located in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, is Denmark's second oldest and second largest university...
. At his death he was also Professor Emeritus at the Niels Bohr Institute
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophysics....
, University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
.
In 2003 Jens Kerte wrote a biography of Knudsen entitled Mars og Marsmanden (Mars and the Martian) which includes three interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s with Knudsen himself.
Knudsen was highly regarded by his students, indeed after Knudsen's death in 2005 the students at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
wrote a song in his honor.