Dr. Jonathon Hill is a mission planner at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility where he operates the THEMIS camera currently orbiting Mars on NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. He previously operated the Mini-TES instruments on the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity for over five years, and supported mission operations for the OTES instrument on the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission to the asteroid Bennu. He is also the lead mission planner for the E-THEMIS instrument on NASA's Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa, which will launch in 2024. He graduated from Arizona State University with degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Geological Sciences and Russian, and defended his PhD in Geological Sciences in Spring 2022, with a dissertation focused on automatically identifying and analyzing salt deposits in the southern highlands of Mars.
Education
Geological Sciences (Ph.D.) 2010-2022
Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Geological Sciences (M.S.) 2010-2016
Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Aerospace Engineering (M.S.) 2005-2009
Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Aerospace Engineering (B.S.E.)
Russian (B.A.) 2000 - 2005
Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Russian Language Certificate
St. Petersburg State University 2005
Center for Russian Language and Culture St. Petersburg, Russia
The 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) have been acquiring infrared images of Mars for nearly 20 years. The best-quality images from the mission have been compiled into a global mosaic at 100 m/pixel resolution and printed on a walkable basketball court-size vinyl mat to spread awareness and excitement about Mars exploration!