Virginia Norwood

Virginia Tower Norwood
Norwood in 1950
Born
Virginia Tower

(1927-01-08)January 8, 1927
New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 26, 2023(2023-03-26) (aged 96)
Topanga, California, U.S.
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Occupations
  • Aerospace Engineer
  • inventor
  • physicist
Known for
  • Contribution to Landsat Program
  • "The Mother of Landsat"
Spouses
  • Larry Norwood
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1947, divorced)​
  • Maurice Schaeffer
    ​
    (died 2010)​
Children3

Virginia Tower Norwood (January 8, 1927 – March 26, 2023) was an American aerospace engineer, inventor, and physicist.[1] She was best known for her contribution to the Landsat program,[2] having designed the Multispectral Scanner[3][4] which was first used on Landsat 1. She has been called "The Mother of Landsat" for this work.[5]

  1. ^ "Virginia T. Norwood, Engineer Responsible for First Landsat Multispectral Scanner, Receives 2021 ASPRS Lifetime Achievement Award". Landsat Science. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  2. ^ Dragoon, Alice (June 29, 2021). "The woman who brought us the world". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Rocchio, Laura (August 7, 2020). "Virginia T. Norwood: The Mother of Landsat". Landsat Science. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Pennisi, Elizabeth (September 10, 2021). "Meet the Landsat pioneer who fought to revolutionize Earth observation". Science. 373 (6561): 1292. doi:10.1126/science.acx9080. S2CID 239215521.
  5. ^ Radde, Kaitlyn (March 31, 2023). "Virginia Norwood, a pioneer in satellite land imaging, dies at age 96". NPR. Retrieved April 2, 2023. When asked if she liked the nickname Mother of Landsat, she told NASA: 'Yes. I like it, and it's apt. I created it; I birthed it; and I fought for it.'