Tony McDonnell is a Professor (Emeritus) of Planetary and Space Sciences. Specialising in

space science Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

and a recognised authority in

cosmic dust Cosmic dustalso called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dustis dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and , such as micrometeoroids (30 μm). Cosmic dust can ...

, he was Professor of Space Sciences at the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

and Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

Space Science

Tony McDonnell started his career at the

Jodrell Bank Jodrell Bank Observatory ( ) in Cheshire, England hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astron ...

Observatory, providing the opportunity for space research, where innovative

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

-borne detectors were developed to measure the threat to survival in space environments. They were to be his career speciality. Following a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

fellowship, he joined the

in 1967 and, over 30 years, successfully developed the Unit for Space Sciences and Astronomy. His research included analysis of

Moon rocks Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth a ...

from

Apollo Programme and USSR Luna missions; hypervelocity impacts and specialised facilities; experiments during Giotto’s flyby of

Halleys Comet Halley's Comet is the only known short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after 75–77 years. It last ...

; and interplanetary explorations by the

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

and

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

probes. Together with

Peter Tsou Peter Tsou is a science staff member at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. His research primarily centers around the utilization of aerogel in space exploration. Tsou has served as the principal inves ...

and Don Brownlee, he was the first to demonstrate the intact capture of space particulates in

aerogel Aerogels are a class of manufacturing, synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component for the gel has been replaced with a gas, without significant collapse of the gel structure. The result is a solid wit ...

, the baseline technique used in the

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

Mission. He has played a significant role in the UK framework and funding for the exploration of space, including the

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

, Cassini/Huygens missions and the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

facilities. In 1984, the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

named asteroid 9159 McDonnell after him. He is also author of ''Cosmic Dust'', a milestone in Solar System Cosmic Dust Research. In 2000, he and his team moved from the

to form the UK’s largest space team at the

and triggered the building of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute. He is now retired and working on a barn renovation in

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. A friend has helped.

References

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/bio_mcdonnell.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20060715010117/http://pssri.open.ac.uk/gucs2004/tonybook.pdf
{{authority control Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Academics of the University of Kent Academics of the Open University British space scientists