Wolf V. Vishniac

Wolf Vladimir Vishniac (April 22, 1922 – December 10, 1973) was an American microbiologist, son of Roman Vishniac. Educated at Brooklyn College and Stanford University, he was a professor of biology at the University of Rochester. He died on a research trip to the Antarctic attempting to retrieve equipment in a crevice. The crater Vishniac on Mars is named in his honor.

Wolf Vishniac contributed greatly to the search for life on Mars by developing a special miniature laboratory that could be transported to that planet, known as the "Wolf Trap". This research was supported by a NASA grant started in 1959, the very first ever for the "biological sciences."

External links

• Short bio entry
• NASA History of Instrumentation for Mars missions
• A Photographer of a Vanished World and his Family
• Every Vishniac
• Vishniac, Wolf Vladimir (1922–1973)

In Culture

British psychedelic rock band Wolftraps on Mars are named after Wolf Vishniac's "wolf traps".