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The Egyptian-American space scientist who helped NASA choose where to land on the Moon and trained the Apollo astronauts — then turned his expertise to the deserts of the Earth. Born 1938.عالِم الفضاء المصري الأمريكي الذي ساعد ناسا في اختيار موقع الهبوط على القمر ودرّب روّاد أبولو — ثم وجّه خبرته إلى صحارى الأرض. مواليد 1938
Farouk El-Baz is an Egyptian-American space scientist and geologist often called "the Egyptian behind the Moon landings." During the historic Apollo programme he helped NASA decide where to land on the Moon and taught the astronauts how to read the lunar surface — playing a real part in one of humanity's greatest adventures. He then brought that same vision back down to Earth, becoming one of the world's foremost experts on deserts and on using satellites to find precious groundwater beneath the sands.
فاروق الباز عالِم فضاء وجيولوجي مصري أمريكي كثيرًا ما يُلقَّب بـ«المصري وراء الهبوط على القمر». ففي برنامج أبولو التاريخي، ساعد ناسا في تحديد موقع الهبوط على القمر، وعلّم روّاد الفضاء كيف يقرؤون سطح القمر — مؤدّيًا دورًا حقيقيًّا في واحدة من أعظم مغامرات البشرية. ثم أعاد هذه الرؤية نفسها إلى الأرض، فصار من أبرز خبراء العالم في الصحارى وفي استخدام الأقمار الصناعية للعثور على المياه الجوفية الثمينة تحت الرمال.
Beginnings · البدايات
From a Delta town to the heart of the Apollo programme.من بلدة في الدلتا إلى قلب برنامج أبولو.
El-Baz was born on 2 January 1938 in Zagazig, in Egypt's Sharqia province. Trained as a geologist, he moved to the United States and, from 1967 to 1972, joined the Apollo programme as Supervisor of Lunar Science Planning at Bellcomm, a division of AT&T that carried out systems analysis for NASA. In those six pivotal years he held three crucial roles at once: Secretary of the Landing Site Selection Committee for the lunar missions, Principal Investigator of Visual Observations and Photography, and Chairman of the Astronaut Training Group — placing him at the very centre of NASA's effort to put humans on the Moon.
Choosing the Moon · اختيار القمر
He helped pick the landing sites and taught the astronauts to see.ساعد في اختيار مواقع الهبوط وعلّم الروّاد كيف يرَون.
El-Baz played a key role in helping NASA select the landing site for Apollo 11 in 1969 — and for all six crewed Moon landings that followed. Just as importantly, he trained the astronauts, including the crew of Apollo 15, in geology and in exactly what to observe and photograph on the lunar surface, so that the most scientifically valuable samples and images would be brought home. The astronauts themselves praised his teaching, and his gift for explaining complex science in plain language made him a familiar voice when NASA briefed the press. He even proposed the idea of a "touchable" Moon rock for museum visitors — inspired, he has said, by touching the Black Stone during a childhood pilgrimage to Mecca. His fame later earned him a shuttlecraft named "El-Baz" in Star Trek: The Next Generation and an asteroid named in his honour.
Back to the Desert · العودة إلى الصحراء
Turning satellite eyes onto the world’s drylands.توجيه عيون الأقمار الصناعية إلى الأراضي الجافّة.
After the Apollo era, El-Baz served on the joint US–Soviet Apollo–Soyuz mission as principal investigator for Earth observation and photography, with a special focus on imaging the Sahara. From there he returned, as he puts it, to his "desert roots." He founded and for decades led the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, a NASA-recognised Center of Excellence, pioneering the use of satellite imagery to study desert landforms — and, crucially, to locate hidden groundwater beneath arid lands. His work has guided the search for water and the planning of agriculture and development across Egypt and the wider Arab world, showing how space science can directly improve life on Earth.
Science for Egypt · علمٌ من أجل مصر
Advising leaders and inspiring a new generation.يستشير القادة ويُلهم جيلًا جديدًا.
El-Baz has long used his standing to serve Egypt and the developing world. In 1978 he was appointed science adviser to President Anwar Sadat, and he has remained an influential voice on science, water, and desert development, serving on Egyptian scientific advisory councils and championing ambitious projects to green the desert. Though he has stepped back from directing his Boston centre, he remains fiercely active well into his later years, travelling regularly to the Middle East to encourage desert research. For young Egyptians and Arabs, he stands as living proof that someone from a small Delta town can help send humans to the Moon — and then return home to help his own land.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include Al Jazeera, TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences), Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing, and other accounts of Farouk El-Baz's work with NASA and on deserts.