E. Dale Jackson

Everett Dale Jackson was born in Fresno, California, on November 29, 1925. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1943 and served in the Pacific Theater of World War II for three years. In 1947, Jackson entered the University of California, Los Angeles. Initially uncertain as to what he would major in, he found geology, discovered that he enjoyed it, and graduated magna cum laude in 1950. After graduation, he married Josephine Arburua. They had a son and twin daughters, all of whom later pursued careers in science. Jackson joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and was assigned to the mapping of the Stillwater igneous complex in Montana. He was tasked with determining whether stratigraphy in the layered rocks of the complex could be used to guide exploration for chromite. In this work he developed concepts such as the stratigraphic cycles that are used in igneous petrology. His observations led to new discoveries in the geology of Greece. ==Space exploration==

, Richard Gordon, Neil Armstrong and Donn Eisele during geological training in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, on March 5, 1964. Groups of three or four astronauts walked down the South Kaibab Trail accompanied by a geologist who described and discussed the geologic features, history, rock types and processes. In 1962, Jackson was assigned to administrative duties in Washington, D.C., work he did not enjoy so much. In July of following year, at the request of Eugene Shoemaker, he was assigned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, where his task was to "provide capable leadership in planning a comprehensive program to establish at Houston a fully equipped facility for the distribution, control, and analysis of lunar and other space samples obtained by flights of manned and unmanned spacecraft." An agreement was reached between Jackson and Wally Schirra, who was in charge of astronaut training, for coursework to commence when the NASA Astronaut Group 3 arrived in February 1964. This provided Jackson with several months in which to develop a comprehensive training syllabus for the Project Apollo astronauts. He was warned that they were ambivalent if not hostile to training in geology, as they were preoccupied with other matters, but Jackson managed to win them over, communicating with them about geology in a way that they found both interesting and engaging. He was less successful in his relations with the NASA training staff, and left after only one year. The study of the geology of the Moon proved too interesting to resist, though, and he later became a member of the teams that examined the samples brought back by Apollo 11, 12 and 14. He then became a member of the scientific advisory team for Apollo 15, 16 and 17. As such, he had an important role in planning and conducting the astronauts' geological training, in selecting the landing sites for the missions, in planning their scientific activities, and disseminating their discoveries to the scientific community and the general public. During the missions, he provided advice to the astronauts from the Mission Control Center in Houston that allowed them to return with better samples. Afterwards, he directed teams of scientists in producing coherent reports on the missions. For his contributions, he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1973. ==Petrology==

After leaving NASA in 1964, Jackson went to Hawaii, where he studied the oceanic crust and mantle under the island chain. In an effort to explain the effects of basaltic magma that he saw around him, Jackson resorted to experiment with Jello. Jackson was a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1967 and Princeton University in 1976. He edited the Journal of Petrology from 1969 to 1973, and remained a member of its advisory board until his death. He was a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Mineralogical Society of America and the Geological Society of America. ==Death==

Jackson died from cancer on July 28, 1978. ==Notes==