Joan Oró i Florensa (1923 – 2004) was a Catalan biochemist whose research has been of importance in understanding the origin of life.

Oró was born in Lleida, Spain, on October 26 1923. From the 1960s he worked with NASA on the Viking missions which explored the planet Mars. His work was essential in the analysis of samples of Martian soil, and suggested that there was in fact no life on Mars.

He was awarded, among other honors, the Cross of Civil Order of Alfons X el Savi (Madrid, 1983), the Alexander Ivanovich Oparin Medal Award from the ISSOL (Berkeley, 1986), the Creu de Sant Jordi (1991), and the Medalla del President Francesc Macià (2000).

He died in Barcelona, Spain, on September 2 2004.

External links

• Joan Oró Foundation

1923 births | 2004 deaths | Catalan scientists | Spanish biochemists

Joan Oró i Florensa | Joan Oró | Joan Oró