Don Hassler joined the Department of Space Studies at SwRI in March 1997. His current research interests include the development and characterization of new space instrumentation, detector physics, ultraviolet spectroscopy, the dynamics of the solar atmosphere and solar wind, and the measurement/characterization of the Mars radiation environment.
Dr. Hassler has an experimental background in ultraviolet spectroscopy and the calibration/characterization of space instrumentation. He is currently Principle Investigator of a NASA sounding rocket program to build a next generation ultraviolet spectrograph, called RAISE (Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph), as well as Principle Investigator of two IR&D projects to develop new instrumentation for future Mars missions (?The Mars-Sun Connection and the Impact of Solar Variability on Mars Weather and Climate: An Experiment Concept Study?). He has been either PI or Co-I on seven previous sounding rocket flights and participated in the instrument development and calibration of, as well as data analysis for, the first successful flight of the Spartan 201-1 satellite flown on the Space Shuttle (STS-56).
He is a funded Co-Investigator on the SUMER (Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation) investigation on SOHO, as well as the STEREO and SDO missions. He is also a member of the NASA Solar Probe Science and Technology Definition Team (2003-2005), the ESA Solar Orbiter Science Payload Working Group (2002-2003), the NASA LWS/SDO Science Definition Team (2000-2001), the 2002 NASA Sun-Earth Connection Roadmap Committee, and the 2006 Sun-Earth System Roadmap Committee.
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