Jakob van Zyl, an engineer who held essential positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was concerned in quite a few area exploration missions over a long time, has died. He was 63.
Van Zyl, who retired in 2019 after a 33-year profession, suffered a coronary heart assault on Monday and died Wednesday at a hospital in Pasadena, California, stated Veronica McGregor, a spokeswoman for JPL.
Van Zyl’s roles included director for astronomy and physics, director for photo voltaic system exploration and affiliate director on a mission to formulate a imaginative and prescient for JPL’s future.
“JPL and NASA are richer for his many technical and managerial contributions, and for his unwavering dedication and engaging personality,” JPL Director Michael Watkins stated in an announcement.
Van Zyl was concerned in missions that despatched the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter, Dawn to the asteroid belt, Cassini to Saturn, and the InSight Mars and its tying accompanying CubeSat spacecraft. He was additionally concerned within the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission at the moment en path to the crimson planet, in addition to growth of future missions.
His early work in Earth sciences led to roles designing and growing missions utilizing artificial aperture radar.
A local of Namibia, van Zyl obtained a level in electronics engineering from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and earned his grasp’s and doctorate in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL.
JPL stated van Zyl was enthusiastic about encouraging younger individuals in Namibia and South Africa to pursue science.
“His legacy will inspire many generations to come,” Lisa Johnson, US ambassador to Namibia, stated in a video tribute posted to the embassy Facebookweb page.
Van Zyl is survived by his spouse, Kalfie, and two siblings.
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