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Mareta West

Mareta West is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mareta West rather than just read about it. In short: Mareta Nelle West (August 9, 1915 – November 2, 1998) was an American astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeologist.

Key takeaways

  • Mareta West belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Mareta West to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Mareta West from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mareta Nelle West (August 9, 1915 – November 2, 1998) was an American astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeologist. Her cremated remains were launched into space.

Early life West was born August 9, 1915, in Elk City, Oklahoma, to Luther and Myrtie West. West was a third-generation Oklahoman, her grandparents having moved to Indian Territory in 1889. She moved to Oklahoma City as a child and graduated from Classen High School. She earned her bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma in 1937, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. West married Albert Reichard on April 21, 1939. They had divorced by the time of the 1940 United States Census.

Career In the 1940s, West worked as a petroleum geologist in the oil and gas industry. She worked in Oklahoma City for eleven years before joining the United States Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1964, two years after the agency was founded. She was the first woman astrogeologist. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1966. West was the only woman on the Geology Experiment Team for Apollo 11. She chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, and worked on selection of landing sites for subsequent Apollo missions. She continued to work on lunar and Martian geography into the 1970s, writing and co-writing several articles and publications. After retirement, West moved back to Oklahoma City, where she actively participated in community and philanthropic causes. She died on November 2, 1998.

Cremated remains launched into space Her cremated remains were launched into space aboard a SpaceLoft-XL rocket on April 28, 2007, as part of the first commercial attempt to launch human remains for lunar "burial". This was a sub-orbital launch, and the cremains were recovered afterwards. A second attempt to launch the cremains was made on August 2, 2008, aboard a Falcon 1 rocket. The intended destination of this flight was low Earth orbit, but the rocket failed two minutes after launch.

Publications Nuclear Power Reactor Sites in the Southeastern United States, 1978. West Side of the Moon

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mareta West

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mareta West claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mareta West before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mareta West ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mareta West

In research
Mareta West appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Mareta West in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Mareta West is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 births, 1998 deaths, 20th-century American scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Mareta West outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Mareta West in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Mareta West means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Mareta West out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mareta West in simple terms?

Mareta Nelle West (August 9, 1915 – November 2, 1998) was an American astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeologist.

Why does Mareta West matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mareta West?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mareta West.

Tags

  • 1915 births
  • 1998 deaths
  • 20th-century American scientists
  • 20th-century American women scientists
  • American astronomer stubs
  • American planetary scientists
  • American women astronomers
  • American women planetary scientists
  • Astrogeologists
  • Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni
  • Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • University of Oklahoma alumni

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