David S. McKay, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

David S. McKay

US planetary geologist

Date of Birth: 25-Sep-1936

Place of Birth: Titusville, Pennsylvania, United States

Date of Death: 20-Feb-2013

Profession: geologist, biochemist, planetary geologist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra

David Stewart McKay (September 25, 1936 – February 20, 2013) was Chief Scientist for astrobiology at the Johnson Space Center.
During the Apollo program, McKay provided geology training to the first men to walk on the Moon in the late 1960's.
McKay was the first author of a scientific paper postulating past life on Mars on the basis of evidence in Martian meteorite ALH 84001, which had been found in Antarctica.
This paper has become one of the most heavily cited papers in planetary science.
The NASA Astrobiology Institute was founded partially as a result of community interest in this paper and related topics.
He was a native of Titusville, Pennsylvania.