Carl Allen, Planetary Geologist

Carl Allen is a Planetary Geologist on the staff of the Lunar Curator. He was born in San Antonio and grew up "back East." Carl returned to Texas to study Chemical Physics at Rice. Shortly after graduation he met and married Jaclyn, a geologist who caused him to see the error of his ways and turn to geology. After a stint in the Navy, the Allens headed for Arizona where they brought forth daughter Ruth and Carl's PhD in planetary science. On a roll by then the family moved on to New Mexico, a postdoc and daughter Joan. A serious downturn in the outlook for space research sent the Allens to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington for ten dynamic years of work in nuclear and chemical waste disposal. Carl and Jaclyn returned to their planetary geology roots in 1991, joining the Lockheed staff at JSC to pursue research and science education.

Much of Carl's work has focused on the resources of the Moon and planets. He demonstrated the extraction of oxygen from lunar soil and volcanic glass samples as well as from carbon dioxide, the main component of Mars' atmosphere. With the exciting announcement of possible relic life forms in a martian meteorite, Carl has turned his work toward the search for fossilized bacteria in Earth's geologic record. Carl and Jaclyn recently helped produce a popular planetarium show which depicts NASA's current strategy for the human exploration of Mars.

Carl serves as the Lunar Curator's Science Observer, verifying that investigators receive the best possible samples for their research. He is also deeply involved in planning for biological screening and curation of the martian rock and soil samples scheduled to be returned early in the next decade.