Lowman was one of the original scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He spent several years with the
United States Army Ordnance Corps, and then became a field assistant with the
United States Geological Survey. In 1959, he became “the first geologist hired by NASA.” At Goddard, he worked with
John A. O'Keefe on the origin of
tektites and pre-Apollo lunar geology. Lowman helped plan the early
Apollo missions and later became involved in analyzing lunar samples and interpreting data from the
Apollo 15 and
Apollo 16 missions. He did early “comparative planetology,” researching what new information from the
Moon and
Mars could tell us about
Earth. He is considered to be the father of Earth orbital photography which led to multispectral imaging of Earth and
Landsat satellite imagery. Lowman's field work included research on ancient exposed rocks in Scotland and the
Sudbury Crater in Ontario, Canada. In addition to his scientific achievements, he served in an educational capacity as a faculty member and mentor at a number of universities and programs throughout his long career. ==Awards and honors==