Named in honor of William H. Pickering (1910– ), former director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Under his guidance instrumented probes were first sent to the inner planets, and work was begun on the “Grand Tour” of the outer planets. He was a pioneer in the development of telemetry, which was to become the essential tool of the space exploration program. In his years as an administrator he encouraged major advances in space science and technology. Many of these led to new inventions, and some spawned new industries. His inspiration and leadership established the U.S. program for the exploration of the solar system. (M 27128) _ _.