PASADENA >> Family members and fellow scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at Arizona State University are mourning the death of one of their colleagues who died in a plane crash Friday near Van Nuys Airport.

Through his scientific career spanning more than two decades, Alberto Enrique Behar of Scottsdale, Ariz., explored the remotest parts of Earth, as well as other planets, according to JPL. He has conducted research in Antarctica, and worked on an instrument on the Mars Curiosity Rover designed to detect water on the Red Planet.

Behar, 47, was an investigation scientist at JPL and a professor at ASU, as well as an experienced airplane and helicopter instructor and a rescue diver, according to a written statement issued by his family.

He was in the cockpit of a single-engine airplane that fell from the sky and crashed at Hayvenhurst Avenue and Vanowen Street in Lake Balboa, just after taking off from Van Nuys Airport about 1:15 p.m. Friday, according to Los Angeles County Department of Coroner and Los Angeles police officials said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Traffic Safety Board.

“We will deeply miss Alberto,” JPL Science Division Manager Michael Watkins said in a statement released Saturday. “He was well known for his energy, enthusiasm, and technical excellence. His career was dedicated to better understanding Earth and the other planets. On behalf of everyone at JPL, I wish to extend our condolences to his family and friends.”

Behar earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a master’s degree of science specializing in robotics from USC, ASU officials said. He also earned a master’s degree in electrical, computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children: Indra, Isis and Athena.

Behar’s family was in mourning and did not wish to comment Friday, ASU officials said.

“Alberto was an incredible person who performed amazing work at both JPL and ASU,” said Lance Strumpf, a longtime friend and chief pilot at Briles Wing & Helicopter in Van Nuys. “He had a passion for aviation, a truly inventive mind, and will be missed.”

Among his numerous aircraft certifications, Behar was an airframe and power plant mechanic, “and often served as an International Ferry Pilot safely delivering customer aircraft to all parts of the world,” according to the ASU statement.

“During his 23-year career at JPL, Dr. Behar specialized in robotics for exploring extreme environments on Earth and other planets,” JPL officials said in a written statement. “He played a key role in developing in situ robotic systems for measuring ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland using submarines, ice rovers and boats. He also participated in the exploration of Mars, serving as investigation Scientist for instruments on the Curiosity rover and the Mars Odyssey orbiter.”

Behar took part in an international expedition to explore Antarctica in 2010 and 2013, and he probed deep into the glaciers of Greenland in 2006.

Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, said regarding Behar’s death:

“Alberto Behar was a uniquely talented engineer, developing ways to measure changes in our natural world in the most challenging environments — the ocean depths or the Antarctic ice cap. With those around him, he shared both a brilliant mind and a big heart: his students were full partners in a grand adventure. His colleagues quickly came to know his caring nature and irrepressible good humor. We will all miss him tremendously,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration.

NASA scientist Thomas Wagner, based out of NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C., described his colleagues’s work as groundbreaking.

“From his submarines that peeked under Antarctica to his boats that raced Greenland’s rivers, Alberto’s work enabled measurements of things we’d never known,” Wagner said. “His creativity knew few bounds. He is, and will forever be, sorely missed.”