George R. Carruthers

George Carruthers invented the far ultraviolet electrographic camera, or spectrograph, using ultraviolet light to make significant advances in studying Earth's upper atmosphere, stars and gases in interstellar space. In 1972, astronauts completing the Apollo 16 mission placed this camera on the moon, where it still stands today.

Carruthers was born in Cincinnati in 1939. His mother and father, who was a civil engineer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, moved the family to a small farm near Milford, Ohio, in his early years. During his childhood, Carruthers spent much of his time reading and exploring science and engineering, and he became very curious about the possibilities of space travel. By the time he was 10, he built his first telescopes, with lenses he had seen for sale in an astronomy magazine.

Following the sudden loss of his father in 1952, his mother moved the family to Chicago, where Carruthers’ passion for science and space continued to grow. “When the family moved to Chicago, then I had access to a much broader range of resources, like public libraries and so forth,” Carruthers recalled. “Also I came into contact with the Adler Planetarium and spoke with some of the astronomers there.”

He carried this passion into his academic career at the University of Illinois, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1961, his master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1962, and his doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering in 1964. He then secured a position at the Naval Research Laboratory and would remain there as a senior astrophysicist in the Space Sciences Division until his retirement in 2002.

At the Naval Research Laboratory, Carruthers created new instrumentation and became an expert in ultraviolet radiation. He made his first major advance in this field as he led the team that developed the far ultraviolet camera. This electronically amplified photographic camera was first used in sounding rocket flights to study stars in 1966. In 1970, it was used to make the first discovery of molecular hydrogen in space.

Carruthers’ camera made its biggest impact in 1972, when Apollo 16 astronauts established the first moon-based observatory in the Descartes highland region. The camera provided the astronauts with an unparalleled perspective, allowing them to see our planet in a new way. Over 200 pictures and spectra were taken during the mission, providing the first global images and spectra of Earth's far outer atmosphere, as well as unique images of stars, galaxies and interstellar gas.

Discussing the impact of his invention, Carruthers said, “The most immediately obvious and spectacular results were really for the Earth observations, because this was the first time that the Earth had been photographed from a distance in ultraviolet light, so that you could see the full extent of the hydrogen atmosphere, the polar auroris and what we call the tropical airglow belt.”

In addition to the far ultraviolet electrographic camera, Carruthers also designed and developed other instruments that were used in numerous space flight missions, including Skylab, four space shuttle flights, and the Department of Defense's Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) unmanned satellite mission.

To support future generations of researchers and innovators, in the 1980s, Carruthers took part in developing the Science and Engineers Apprentice Program (SEAP), providing opportunities for high school students to contribute to research at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the 1990s, he dedicated more and more of his time to giving lectures and mentoring students in the Washington, D.C., area. He also became more active in STEM organizations, including the National Technical Association.

In 2011, Carruthers earned one of the country’s highest honors for his contributions to astronomical advancements – the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. After Carruthers passed away in December 2020, NASA renamed a telescope that will observe Earth from space. Formerly known as the Global Lyman-alpha Imager of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) mission, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will capture light from the geocorona, a belt of ionized hydrogen surrounding the outermost part of the Earth’s atmosphere – the exosphere – which emits ultraviolet light. This mission will be the first to study the geocorona’s characteristics.