Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) was an African-American mathematician whose calculations of
orbital mechanics as a
NASA employee were critical to the success of U.S.
crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped the space agency pioneer the use of computers to perform tasks. She worked with the
Apollo program, calculating rendezvous paths for
the lunar lander and
command module on its flights to the Moon. Johnson's calculations were essential to the beginning of the
Space Shuttle program and she also worked on plans for a mission to Mars. In 2015, President
Barack Obama awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, as a pioneering example of African-American women in
STEM. She was portrayed by
Taraji P. Henson as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. This NASA photographic portrait of Johnson was taken in 1983.Photograph credit:
NASA