Dolores Hill is a meteoriticist and co-lead of Target Asteroids!, a citizen science project of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission.
Dolores Hill
Sr. Research Specialist, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
Dolores is a member of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission Communication and Public Engagement team. She is OSIRIS-REx Ambassadors lead, and co-lead of its Target Asteroids! citizen science program (transitioning to the Astronomical League’s Target NEOs! observing program) that was honored as a White House Champion of Change for Citizen Science in 2013. Since 1981 Dolores has analyzed a wide range of meteorites at the University oArizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, AZ and provided technical support to space missions and LPL laboratories.
In addition to her work analyzing meteorites, she has a lifelong interest in amateur astronomy. Dolores is a longtime member of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association, co-founded the Sunset Astronomical Society in Midland, Michigan and was a member of the Warren Astronomical Society in the Detroit-area. Cranbrook Institute of Science played an important role in encouraging her interest in science. While living in Michigan, she and her husband, Rik, enjoyed attending many regional amateur astronomy conventions where they met many lifelong friends. Near-Earth asteroid (164215) Doloreshill is named after her. She looks forward to seeing samples of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in 2023!
Asteroid Bennu:
This series of images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft shows asteroid Bennu in one full rotation from about 50 miles (80 km). The spacecraft’s PolyCam camera obtained the thirty-six 2.2-millisecond frames over a period of four hours and 18 minutes. Cresit:: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Arizona
About the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission:
Dolores Hill describing the OSIRIS-REx TAGSAM mechanism. Credit: Bob Trembley
One of the meteorite displays at OSIRIS-REx HQ. Credit: Bob Trembley
Read asteroid Mission Updates: https://www.asteroidmission.org/status-updates/