NASA Ames Research Center has appointed Estelle Condon as associate director for astrobiology and space programs. Condon has served as acting director of the Astrobiology and Space Research Directorate since March 2002.
She began her NASA Ames career in 1980 as a research scientist in the Space Science Division, where she worked on a variety of stratospheric and tropospheric airborne experiments. She was the first woman to fly an experiment on a NASA platform aircraft. In 1986, she became deputy project manager for the Stratospheric Tropospheric Exchange Project, which studied the tropical tropopause from Darwin, Australia.
In 1987, Condon became project manager for the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment, the first airborne experiment to study the chemistry and dynamics of the Antarctic ozone hole. This experiment determined unequivocally that human-made chemicals were involved in the destruction of ozone over the Antarctic and provided the scientific basis for the amendments to the Montreal Protocol, which banned the manufacture of chlorofluorocarbons.
In 1989, Condon became deputy chief of the Earth Science Division and in 1994, she assumed the duties of chief of the division.
For more information: Ann Hutchison, 650/604-3039 or by e-mail at: ahutchison@mail.arc.nasa.gov
