A $20 million NASA mission aims to put a small satellite into space that will make it easier for scientists to calibrate telescopes and more accurately measure the brightness of stars. Scientists hope the enhanced measurements will help uncover secrets about dark energy, better determine the age of stars and assess the habitability of exoplanets.
The Landolt Space Mission will put the so-called artificial star — that’s about the size of a microwave — into Earth’s orbit in 2029. The satellite will have eight lasers shining down on Earth that won’t be detectable by the naked eye, but telescopes will be able to find them.
The mission’s namesake, Arlo Landolt, is a renowned astronomer with roots in the Metro East.
Growing up in the 1940s in Madison County, Illinois, Landolt attended a one-room country schoolhouse about a mile from his home where eight grades were taught by one teacher. On cold winter mornings, his mother would send him to school with a baked potato in each pocket to help keep him warm.
“He was always very interested in nature and therefore science. I know he participated in 4-H club when he was a youngster,” said Landolt’s daughter Jennifer Boutte, a chemistry instructor at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.
Through 4-H, Landolt raised and sold hogs. With the proceeds, he bought a set of Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia and read them cover to cover.
Landolt went to high school in Highland, Illinois, and after earning a Ph.D. from Indiana University, started his career at Louisiana State University. While a professor at LSU, he put together widely used catalogs of stellar brightness in the 1970s through the '90s.
Boutte recalls a “wonderful family experience” growing up. She was the youngest of five daughters in a blended family. When Landolt married a high school classmate, Eunice Casper, she already had four daughters.
“There was a lot of camaraderie,” Boutte said. “We talked about nature and science. My mom [was] a nurse. Of course, it was chaotic with five girls — all girls — in the family. My father tended to just keep his head down and go with the flow of things.”
Boutte credits her father, who died in 2022, with helping foster a love of science.
“LSU used to have a small observatory about 45 minutes, maybe an hour, outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I would go spend time with him there. He would be observing, and I'd play in the dormitory area and we'd spend the night there,” Boutte said. “He'd let me move the telescope around a bit, and I could ask questions. And he was always wonderful to share information with me. I probably just didn't ask enough questions.”
To hear more of Boutte’s recollections about her father, Arlo Landolt, and to hear from the principal investigator of the Landolt Space Mission at George Mason University, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
