Dr. Japie van Zyl Death – Dead | Obituary – Passed Away
Japie van Zyl Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished Japie van Zyl.
Having heard about this great loss, the family of this individual is passing through pains, mourning the unexpected passing of their beloved.
This departure was confirmed through social media posts made by Twitter users who pour out tributes, and condolences to the family of the deceased.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail”. I’m shocked and terribly saddened to hear of the passing of Dr Japie van Zyl, former NASA JPL Director of Solar System Exploration. It’s only just over a week ago that I was privileged to be included in the Carte Blanche segment on the Mars 2020 mission with him, with him closing the programme with these inspirational words, words he lived by. His enthusiasm for exploration and the love that he had for the work he has been involved with shone through in the programme and is a fitting tribute to him. Rest in peace Japie, my thoughts are with your family and friends.
JUST IN: World-renowned Namibian scientist Japie van Zyl has passed away following a heart attack. Van Zyl, who worked as a scientist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), contributed to at least 20 successful space missions. He was also a winner of the NASA Outstanding Public Service Medal, which placed him in the same league as astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, who were also honoured with this prestigious medal for their participation in the successful moon landing over 50 years ago. Van Zyl was 63 and passed away in Pasedena, California in the US.
Almost 3 years ago I attended this presentation by Prof. Van Zyl. It’s sad to learn (The Namibian Sun) that he has passed away in the USA from a heart attack. His presentations used to be a calendar event that people looked forward to. During this specific one it was exciting to see how he easily interacted with the audience. How he easily explained complicated scientific expedition to a predominantly non-scientific audience. He will be missed by the community.
Namibia’s Dr. Japie van Zyl dead at the age of 63
Namibia has lost one of its greatest stars. Dr. Japie van Zyl, the Outjo-born scientist that has been a leading researcher at the North American Space Association (NASA) in California in the United States of America has died. Dr. van Zyl suffered a massive heart attack earlier and could not recover from that. He was 63 years old.
Dr. van Zyl was just recently congratulated for his 33 years of service at NASA and has retired a short while ago. He had an exemplary career at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory which included the position of deputy-Director of astrophysics. Under his leadership space missions were launched for the Spitzer- and Kepler space telescopes.
In 2016, Dr. van Zyl became the Director of Planetary Exploration at NASA, where he was responsible for space missions to planets on the outer-rim of our solar system. He retired recently and was hailed for his achievements.
Dr. van Zyl had a passion for space and part of his passion was to cultivate an interest for space and space exploration among the youth. Whenever he visited Namibia, Dr. van Zyl held public talks about space and space exploration. That included several education talks at Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
We are still working on getting more details about the death, as a family statement on the death is yet to be released.
