NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the women and said they made it possible for Earthlings to lift beyond the bounds of Earth, and for generations of trailblazers to follow. The pioneers that we honor today, these Hidden Figures, their courage and imagination brought us to the Moon. And their lessons, their legacy, will send us back to the Moon and then, imagine, just imagine, when we leave our footprints on the red sands of Mars.
While working at a segregated department at NASA's Langley Research Center, the four women, who became known as 'human computers' for their mathematical abilities, calculated projections for key projects, including the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Johnson also played a key role in helping astronaut John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Glenn did not trust orbital calculations done by computer and requested that Johnson run all the same equations by hand.
The women were not only successful as mathematicians. Jackson became NASA's first Black female engineer in 1958 and Vaughan the first Black female supervisor of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1949. Darden became the first Black woman at NASA for her research on sonic booms and supersonic aircraft noise. Their accomplishments have opened doors and inspired countless others in STEM fields.
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