Editing Colin Pillinger

{{Short description|English planetary scientist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist
|honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FRS|FRAS|FRGS}}
|name              = Colin Pillinger
|image             = Colin Pillinger.jpg
|image_size        = 
|caption           = At [[Jodrell Bank Observatory]] in 2009
|birth_date        = {{birth date|1943|5|9|df=y}}
|birth_name        = Colin Trevor Pillinger
|birth_place       = [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire|Kingswood]], Gloucestershire, England
|death_date        = {{death date and age|2014|5|7|1943|5|9|df=y}}
|death_place       = [[Cambridge]], England<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27322166|title=Colin Pillinger dies after brain haemorrhage|newspaper=BBC News|date=8 May 2014|last1=Amos|first1=Jonathan}}</ref>
|field             = [[Planetary science]]
|work_institutions = [[Open University]]<br>[[University of Cambridge]]<br>[[University of Bristol]]<br>[[Gresham College]]
|alma_mater        = [[Swansea University|University College of Swansea]] (BSc, PhD)
|thesis_url        = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/502632094
|thesis_title      = Studies on the nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy
|thesis_year       = 1968
|known_for         = ''[[Beagle 2]]'' Mars lander<br>Analyzing Apollo lunar samples<ref name="DIDiscs CP"/>
|prizes            = [[Michael Faraday Prize]] (2011)
}}
'''Colin Trevor Pillinger''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FRS|FRAS|FRGS}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Ian |date=2024 |title=Colin Trevor Pillinger. 9 May 1943—7 May 2014 |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.2023.0032 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |volume=76}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|l|ɪ|n|dʒ|ər}}; 9 May 1943&nbsp;– 7 May 2014) was an English [[Planetary science|planetary scientist]]. He was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at [[Open University]] in [[Milton Keynes]],<ref>[http://www.open.edu/openlearn/institutions/the-open-university/science-faculty/planetary-and-space-sciences-research-institute-pssri Planetary and Space Science Research Institute PSSRI Contributors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513013834/http://www.open.edu/openlearn/institutions/the-open-university/science-faculty/planetary-and-space-sciences-research-institute-pssri |date=13 May 2014 }} (accessed 12 May 2014)</ref> he was also the principal investigator for the British ''[[Beagle 2]]'' Mars lander project, and worked on a group of [[Martian meteorite]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The real Mars|author=Michael Hanlon|pages=166|isbn=978-1-4050-3639-9|publisher=Basic Books|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb name|1553844}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2004/beagle-colin-pillinger/ |title=Beagle 2 - in conversation with Colin Pillinger |publisher=[[Royal Society]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221030722/https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2004/beagle-colin-pillinger/ |archive-date=21 December 2016 }}</ref>

==Education and early life==
Pillinger was born on 9 May 1943 in [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire]], just outside [[Bristol]].<ref name=CP-website-biography>{{cite web|url=http://colinpillinger.com/barnstormpr.co.uk/biography.htm |title=Biography |publisher=Pillinger's personal website |access-date=30 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218205618/http://colinpillinger.com/barnstormpr.co.uk/biography.htm |archive-date=18 February 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> His father, Alfred, a manual worker for the Gas Board, and his mother, Florence (née Honour), also had a daughter Doreen (the local historian D.P. Lindegaard), 6 years Colin's senior, born 1937.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lindegaard|first=Kevin|date=2021-02-28|title=Killed in a coalpit|url=https://bafhs.org.uk/product/killed-in-a-coalpit/|url-status=live|website=Bristol and Avon Family History Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921071103/https://bafhs.org.uk/product/killed-in-a-coalpit/ |archive-date=21 September 2020 }}</ref><ref name="DIDiscs CP">{{cite episode |title=Desert Island Discs with Colin Pillinger |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ncwp6 |series=Desert Island Discs | series-link=Desert Island Discs |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] |airdate=2009-10-25}}</ref><ref name=CP-website-biography/> He attended [[Kingswood Grammar School]], and later graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] and a PhD in chemistry from [[Swansea University|University College of Swansea]] (now Swansea University).<ref name=CP-website-biography/> He said of himself, "I was a disaster as a science student".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2002/dec/29/spaceexploration.observermagazine | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Robin | last=McKie | title=Colin Pillinger | date=29 December 2002}}</ref>

==Career and research==
After graduating from university, Pillinger became a senior research associate in the Department of Earth Science at the University of Cambridge, and then a senior research fellow at The Open University (1984–1990). He became a professor in interplanetary science at The Open University in 1991.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/professor-colin-pillinger-cbe-frs Professor Colin Pillinger CBE FRS - News Stories - GOV.UK] (accessed 12 May 2014)</ref>

Pillinger's first job was working for [[NASA]]. He was involved in the Apollo space programme and ESA's ''[[Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]]'' mission,<ref>[http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/colin-pillinger-dies-aged-70/2013206.article Colin Pillinger dies aged 70 ''Times Higher Education'' (8 May 2014)] (accessed 12 May 2014)</ref> and analysed the lunar samples brought back by [[Apollo 11]].<ref name="DIDiscs CP"/>

Between 1996 and 2000, Pillinger was made [[Gresham Professor of Astronomy]] at [[Gresham College]], a position once held by [[Sir Christopher Wren]].<ref>[http://www.gresham.ac.uk/gresham-professor-of-astronomy Gresham Professor of Astronomy]</ref> He said of his appointment as professor of astronomy:<ref>{{cite book |last=Pavitt |first=Geoff |year=2006 |title=Portraits of the Gresham Professors |place=London |publisher=Gresham College }}</ref>
{{blockquote|"As an organic chemist, turned geologist, turned astronomer who uses isotopic analyses to unravel the origins of life, our planet, the solar system and the stars, I hope I have something in common with the versatile men who were early Gresham Professors. The subjects which I research already enjoy popular interest; by combining them to produce a story of life told from the genealogy of its elements, my aim is to appeal to the widest possible audience, using an interdisciplinary approach to attempt to unravel the time-honoured puzzle, where do I come from?"}}
	
Pillinger is credited with inspiring many people to take an interest in space science, particularly in Britain. He was responsible for training and supporting a large number of experts in the field as well as helping to unite the space science and industrial communities in the UK. Pillinger worked as a conference and after-dinner speaker for the JLA agency.<ref>http://www.jla.co.uk/after-dinner-speakers/colin-pillinger JLA (accessed 7 August 2012)</ref>

To demonstrate his appetite for sharing his research and promoting the public understanding of science, Pillinger laid claim to the phrase "The only thing that increases in value if you share it is knowledge".<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/2014/02/explorers-or-nosy-parkers |title = Explorers ... or nosy parkers| date=9 June 2021 }}</ref>

In 2000, a main belt asteroid was named [[15614 Pillinger]] after Colin Pillinger.<ref name=browse/> In 2003, he was appointed a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to higher education and to science.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Pillinger played a role in the ''[[Philae (spacecraft)|Philae]]'' lander that was part of the ''Rosetta'' mission which successfully made its rendezvous with comet [[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko]] in 2014. In particular he was an advocate of the idea of deploying the lander ''Philae'' to conduct scientific experiments in situ, and was instrumental in getting the Ptolemy device accepted as part of the science payload.<ref name=Rosetta-Ptolemy-Blog>{{cite web|url=http://rosettaptolemy.com/2014/05/13/colin-pillinger-monday-5th-may/|title=Rosetta Ptolemy Blog|access-date=15 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129024445/http://rosettaptolemy.com/2014/05/13/colin-pillinger-monday-5th-may/|archive-date=29 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===''Beagle 2''===
[[File:Beagle 2 replica.jpg|thumb|Replica of ''[[Beagle 2]]'' in the [[London Science Museum]].]]
Pillinger was the [[principal investigator]] for ''[[Beagle 2]]'' Mars lander project, part of [[European Space Agency]]'s (ESA) 2003 ''[[Mars Express]]'' mission. Initially considered a failure, it has since come to light that the space craft did successfully touch down on the surface of Mars. The UK Space Agency on 16 January 2015 indicated that ''Beagle 2'' had indeed reached the surface of Mars on 25 December 2003, but had failed to deploy fully.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-led-beagle-2-lander-found-on-mars |title=Beagle 2 successfully landed on Mars on 25th December 2003 |publisher=UKSA |date=16 January 2015 |access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref> Images taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA's ''[[Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter]]'' (MRO) identified clear evidence for the lander and convincing evidence for key entry and descent components on the surface of Mars within the expected landing area of Isidis Planitia (an impact basin close to the equator).

Recent{{Vague|date=October 2021}} research into photographs taken of the landing site by a Mars orbiter suggest that as many as three of the four solar panels may have been successfully opened.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} As the transmitter was underneath the fourth panel, the lander failed to communicate back to Earth.

When the lander was first considered 'lost' a number of possible explanations were given by [[David Southwood]], ESA's director of Science. The commission inquiring into the mission's apparent failure also apportioned blame towards Pillinger's management of the overall project as a contributing factor.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3741989.stm | work=BBC News | title=Beagle mission 'poorly managed' | date=24 May 2004}}</ref> In response, in his autobiography, Professor Pillinger highlighted a lack of support from key figures at ESA as a factor.

It was Pillinger's wife who thought of the ''Beagle 2'' name for the project, based on [[Charles Darwin]]'s ship {{HMS|Beagle}}.<ref name="DIDiscs CP"/>

Pillinger enlisted British rock band [[Blur (band)|Blur]] to write a song to be ''Beagle 2''{{'}}s call sign back home. It was to be broadcast as soon as ''Beagle 2'' began work on the surface of Mars. He also persuaded the artist [[Damien Hirst]] to provide a spot painting to use in calibrating the spacecraft's camera.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/08/beagle-2-scientist-colin-pillinger-dies Beagle 2 scientist Colin Pillinger dies aged 70, ''The Guardian Online'' (8 May 2014)] (accessed 12 May 2014)</ref>

In 2014, a science destination for the Mars rover ''[[Opportunity rover|Opportunity]]'' on the western rim of [[Endeavour crater|Endeavour Crater]] was named ''Pillinger Point'' after Colin Pillinger, in commemoration of his enthusiasm for the ''Beagle 2'' mission.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-201|title=Aluminum-Bearing Site on Mars Draws NASA Visitor|publisher=NASA|date=24 June 2014|access-date=1 July 2014}}</ref>

===Pillinger in popular culture===
''Beagle 2'' has been mentioned in Hollywood films ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (and in the prequel Transformers: Beginnings comic) and Pillinger's work on asteroid impacts in ''[[Jurassic Park]]''. A missing British Mars spacecraft was the subject of the [[The Christmas Invasion|2005 ''Doctor Who'' Christmas Special]]. Pillinger appeared in ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' season 3 episode 7 and won a contest based on the best [[burnout (vehicle)|burnout]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pukas|first1=Anna|title=Professor Colin Pillinger 1943-2014: A tribute to a very British boffin|url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/gaming/474865/Professor-Colin-Pillinger-1943-2014-Tribute-to-a-very-British-boffin|access-date=14 September 2017|work=Express|date=9 May 2014}}</ref> ''Beagle 2'' featured in a science fiction story by Stephen Baxter and as one of the subjects in ''The Backroom Boys'' by Frances Spufford.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lezard|first1=Nicholas|title=The poetry of science|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/aug/14/featuresreviews.guardianreview12|access-date=14 September 2017|work=Guardian|date=14 August 2004}}</ref>
Colin Pillinger was one of the guests talking about the planet Mars for In Our Time, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 11 January 2007.

===Awards and honours===
Chronology of qualifications, career, and awards:<ref name=CP-website-biography/>

{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1965|event= BSc (Chemistry) from [[Swansea University|University College of Swansea]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1968|event= PhD (Chemistry) from University College of Swansea}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1968|event=[[Postdoctoral]] [[research fellow]], [[University of Bristol]] Department of Chemistry}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1974|event= Research Associate, at the University of Cambridge}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1976|event= Senior Research Associate, [[University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences|Department of Earth Sciences]], [[University of Cambridge]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1981|event= [[Fellow]] of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1981|event= Member of the [[British Mass Spectrometry Society]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1984|event= Honorary DSc (Chemistry) from [[University of Bristol]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1984|event= Senior Research Fellow, Department of Earth Science, Open University}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1986|event= Fellow of the [[Meteoritical Society]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1991|event= Appointed Professor of Planetary Sciences at the [[Open University]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1993|event= Member of the [[International Astronomical Union]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1993|event= Fellow of the [[Royal Geographical Society]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1993|event= Elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1996|event= Professor of Astronomy at [[Gresham College]] in the City of London (until 2000)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2000|event=[[Asteroid belt|Main belt]] asteroid [[15614 Pillinger]] named after Pillinger.<ref name=browse>{{cite web|url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=15614+Pillinger|title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser on 15614 Pillinger|work=nasa.gov}}</ref>}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2003|event= [[Aston Medal]] }}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2003|event= appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]]}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2003|event= Winner [[Top Gear series 3]]'s Brain Box Burnout<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygnacujuwms/ | title=Top Gear Season 3, Episode 7}}</ref>}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2011|event= recipient of the [[Faraday Prize|Michael Faraday Prize]]}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://royalsociety.org/awards/michael-faraday-prize/ | title= Royal Society&nbsp;– Michael Faraday Prize |access-date= 4 February 2012}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

===Publications===
* ''Beagle&nbsp;– from Sailing Ship to Mars Spacecraft'' (2003) {{ISBN|978-0-571-22323-7}}
* ''Space is a Funny Place'' (Barnstorm Productions, 2007). {{ISBN|978-0-9537263-9-4}}.
* ''My Life on Mars&nbsp;– The Beagle 2 Diaries'' (2010) {{ISBN|978-0-9506597-3-2}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Professor Colin Pillinger&nbsp;— obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10815922/Professor-Colin-Pillinger-obituary.html|access-date=14 September 2017|work=Telegraph|date=8 May 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Pillinger's widow, Judith, is also a scientist. They met when working in the same laboratory and had two children, a son, Nicolas Joseph, and a daughter, Shusanah Jane,<ref name="DIDiscs CP"/><ref name=CP-website-biography/> who in 2015 became the first solo British woman to complete the [[Race Across America]] ultra-endurance cycle race.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/33332089 | title=Shusanah Pillinger makes British RAAM history | date=30 June 2015 | newspaper=BBC Sport}}</ref>

After experiencing difficulty with walking for two years, Pillinger was diagnosed with progressive [[multiple sclerosis]] in May 2005.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4671941.stm |title=Red Planet scientist battles MS |work=BBC News |date=18 July 2005 |access-date=30 October 2009}}</ref> He owned a dairy farm, but towards the end of his life his illness prevented him from doing physical work on the farm.<ref name="DIDiscs CP"/> Pillinger died two days before his 71st birthday at [[Addenbrooke's Hospital]] in [[Cambridge]] on 7 May 2014, after having a [[brain haemorrhage]] and falling into a coma.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=Colin Pillinger dies after brain haemorrhage|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27322166|access-date=8 May 2014|newspaper=BBC Online|date=8 May 2014}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillinger, Colin}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Alumni of Swansea University]]
[[Category:20th-century English astronomers]]
[[Category:English chemists]]
[[Category:British planetary scientists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Academics of the Open University]]
[[Category:Academics of Gresham College]]
[[Category:People with multiple sclerosis]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at King's Oak Academy]]
[[Category:21st-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:British scientists with disabilities]]