Katherine Johnson was an African-American woman who was referred to as

"computer". She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around the world and step on the
moon.

When she was a young girl, Katherine already shows her love for Mathematics by
counting everything like the steps she took when walking and the dishes she washed. Her
curiosity in Math allowed her to start high school at the age of 10. Then, at the age of 15,
she started attending college classes to become a mathematician. Katherine graduated with
the highest honors because of her perseverance in studying and became a teacher at a
public school.

Soon, she left her teaching job and started to work for NACA (later called NASA). She
was able to make a report about describing an orbital spaceflight in which the landing
position of the spacecraft is specified by laying out the equations.

In 1962, Katherine became a part of a team to solve problems in sending astronauts

into orbit around the Earth. Without Katherine's geometry for space travel, it would be
impossible for NASA to send astronauts to the moon and back. Her greatest contribution to
space exploration is the calculations that helped synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Module with
the lunar-orbiting Command and Service Module. She worked for NASA for more than 30
years. In 2015, at the age of 97, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom given by
President Barack Obama. It is America’s highest civilian honor.

She spent her remaining years by encouraging students to study hard and also
teaching them to love math and science. Indeed, Katherine is an American hero and her
pioneering legacy that will never be forgotten.

Sources:

“Who Was Katherine Johnson?”. Sandra May, 2020.

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/who-was-
katherine-johnson-k4

“Katherine Johnson Biography”. Sarah Loff, 2020.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography