Barbara Hilton grew up in the Illinois Valley dreaming of space. Today, she is a NASA program executive helping prepare for a first-of-its-kind mission to send a rover to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

Hilton, a graduate of St. Bede Academy, Illinois Valley Community College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has spent her career designing, launching and managing spacecraft.

Her current project, Dragonfly, is a robotic rotorcraft expected to launch in 2028. It will be the first aircraft to fly across Titan’s surface, studying multiple sites on the moon that scientists believe may resemble early Earth.

As NASA’s program executive for the Dragonfly mission, Hilton’s job is to ensure the project stays on course – in more ways than one.

“My goal is to ensure the mission’s success, and I do this by filling two roles,” she said. “The first is that I am the mission’s primary point of contact and advocate at NASA headquarters, and the second is that I am also the mission’s enforcer of government and NASA rules and regulations.”

Hilton said her interest in space took root early.

“I really can’t point to one specific thing or event that sparked my interest in space. It was just always something that fascinated me from a young age,” she said. “As I went through school, I was always reading and learning as much about it as I could, and I was very fortunate to have parents that supported my interests and never let me think for a minute that working in the space industry was not something that I could achieve.”

Her parents played a key role in nurturing that curiosity. Her father, who worked in industrial and mechanical engineering, often took her and her brother along to see manufacturing plants such as Caterpillar.

“Getting to see places like this when I was young helped me to understand what it meant to be an engineer and how it was something that I could achieve myself,” she said.

She also credits Brother Luke, her physics teacher at St. Bede, as someone who encouraged her and emphasized mastering math and science fundamentals.

Hilton said she didn’t see many science, technology, engineering and math opportunities available locally when she was growing up, which is part of why she feels strongly about coming back to help with IVCC’s Ed’Venture space camp and giving presentations to local students.

“I will say that not seeing a lot of local programs for STEM when I was a kid is another reason why I find it important to give talks and help with the camps at IVCC when I am back spending time in the Illinois Valley,” she said.

On Dragonfly, her day-to-day involves attending many meetings, listening closely and staying fully informed on every aspect of the mission so she can advocate for resources and make sure the team delivers on its commitments.

“This means that I have to have a really good understanding and grasp of the technical aspects of the mission in addition to making sure they are performing within their budget and schedule commitments,” she said.

Hilton said the people behind the Dragonfly mission are one of the most exciting parts of her work.

“From the scientists to all the engineers – who all seem much smarter than me – that are dedicated and passionate about this mission, their excitement about what they do is truly inspiring,” she said. “I also really love how this is a mission that is truly a combination of space exploration and aeronautics.

“The lander itself is really big – the size of a small car – and although we have sent rovers this size to other places to explore, [it was] never something this size that will be able to fly itself to different locations on Titan. It really is going to change how we explore other places in our solar system.”

Hilton hopes her career shows local students that career possibilities in the aerospace industry are within reach.

“My hope would be that they understand that they have all the same opportunities to pursue any career that they have an interest in and lots of resources right near them,” she said, encouraging kids to seek out programs at local libraries, IVCC and even online. “If you are driven to learn about something specific, go online and probably find a local group of people with similar interests, like a local astronomy, robotics or drone club.”

When in Virginia, Hilton is mom to 10-year-old Jadzia, loves to garden and leads her daughter’s Scout troop. When she is in Granville, she is busy remodeling the family home and helping at IVCC summer camps or giving presentations, which has become a way to give back to a community that gave her a start.

“I want to show my daughter that when you do something you enjoy, there are ways to share it and give back,” Hilton said.