My Life in Space Exploration

1. My way into physics.- 2. The assignment.- 3. Diverse paths.- 4. Years of harvest.- 5. Reflection.

After a humanistic school education, Gerhard Haerendel choseto study physics with the intention of becoming a researcher in astrophysics. Commencing

as graduate student with Ludwig Biermann, the leading astrophysicist of that

time, he was soon "handed over" to Arnulf Schlüter, Germany's foremost

plasma theorist, as thesis advisor. Shortly afterward, the Max Planck

Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich under Werner Heisenberg set up

a research group for space research under Reimar Lüst, who hired Haerendel as

young theorist supporting the experimental program consisting of seeding

visible barium plasma clouds in space. In 1969, he was appointed leader of this experimental program and, three years later, became co-director of the Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics in Garching/Germany.

He led this program from simple sounding rocket experiments to international projects involving combined active and diagnostic payloads focusing on specific phenomena such as plasma instabilities

like equatorial spread F, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, auroral

acceleration, and finally to the ultimate goal of creating two artificial

comets in the solar wind, so far the only experiments ever of this kind.  The latter step of this program was enabled by his group having acquired the competence to build entire satellite payloads.

This led naturally into participation in the global exploration of the

magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind.  The missions were conceived and carried out

as national programs under the control of the his institute, however with

strong international cooperation and support by NASA, ESA, and the Swedish

Space Corporation. He was strongly involved in the interpretation of

the data obtained and the development of pertinent theories.

He played a role in