Faith Vilas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Faith Vilas
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| Born | 1952  |
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| Occupation | Scientist |
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| Website | https://www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/fvilas |
| Position held | scientist (1999–2011), director (MMT Observatory, 2005–2010), chair (Division for Planetary Sciences, 1996–1997) |
Faith Vilas is an American planetary scientist. This means she studies planets, moons, and other objects in space. She was also the Director of the MMT Observatory in Arizona, which is a large telescope used for observing the universe.
Contents
Education and Early Studies
Faith Vilas loved learning about space from a young age. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in astronomy, in 1973 from Wellesley College. She then continued her studies, getting her Master of Science (MS) degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences in 1975 from MIT. Finally, she completed her highest degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Planetary Sciences, in 1984 at the University of Arizona.
Exploring the Solar System
Work at NASA
From 1985 to 2005, Dr. Vilas worked as a scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center. Here, she studied "orbital debris," which are pieces of old spacecraft and rockets orbiting Earth. Her research helped scientists understand how much space junk is out there.
She also made important discoveries about planets. Her observations helped prove that Neptune has rings, five years before a Voyager mission confirmed it in 1989. She even designed a special tool called a coronagraph. This tool helped create the first-ever image of a disk of dust and gas around another star, called Beta Pictoris, in 1984.
Dr. Vilas has spent a lot of time studying the planet Mercury. She even helped edit a book about Mercury in 1989. She was also a pioneer in finding "hydrated minerals" (minerals that contain water) on asteroids. This discovery is very important for future plans to mine asteroids for resources.
Adventures in Antarctica
While at NASA, Dr. Vilas went on an amazing trip to Antarctica during the 1987-88 season. She was part of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites team. They collected almost 700 meteorites from the ice fields there. These meteorites give scientists clues about the early solar system.
She also worked at NASA Headquarters from 2001 to 2002. She helped manage programs that analyzed data from missions like Discovery, Dawn, and NEAR. She made sure these important science programs continued smoothly, even during difficult times.
Leading Observatories and Missions
From 2005 to 2010, Dr. Vilas was the director of the Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory. In this role, she was in charge of running the telescope and its instruments. She also planned for the observatory's future and managed the team of scientists and engineers.
In 2011, she joined the Planetary Science Institute. There, she worked on NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury and the Atsa Suborbital Observatory Project. She is also part of the team for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, which studies Earth's Moon. She also works with the Japanese Hayabusa-2 mission, which visited asteroid 162173 Ryugu.
From 2015 to 2018, she worked for the National Science Foundation, helping to direct programs related to planets and exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). She has since returned to the Planetary Science Institute. In 2019, she became an editor for journals published by the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Later that year, she became the first editor of The Planetary Science Journal, a new science journal.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Faith Vilas has received many honors for her important work:
- In 2018, the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences gave her the Harold Masursky Award for her excellent service to planetary science.
- The American Geophysical Union awarded her the Fred Whipple Award in 2019 for her significant contributions to planetary science.
- She was recognized as a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020.
- An asteroid, 3507 Vilas, was named after her to honor her achievements.
- In 2023, Wellesley College gave her the Alumnae Achievement Award. This award is given to graduates who have brought honor to themselves and the college through their accomplishments.
Personal Life
Faith Vilas is a trained pilot, just like many members of her family. Her grandfather was the first person to fly across Lake Michigan. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of his flight, she recreated his historic journey! She is married to Larry W. Smith, who is an engineer.
