{"id":789310,"date":"2024-09-19T15:36:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T20:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=789310"},"modified":"2024-09-19T15:36:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T20:36:50","slug":"hidden-figures-of-nasa-awarded-congressional-gold-medals-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=789310","title":{"rendered":"‘Hidden Figures’ of NASA awarded Congressional Gold Medals : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n A member of the U.S. Capitol Police carries a Congressional Gold Medal for Katherine Johnson, one of NASA’s “Hidden Figures,” during a ceremony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
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A group of Black female scientists and mathematicians known as NASA’s \u201cHidden Figures\u201d were honored with Congressional Gold Medals on Wednesday, the highest award given to citizens by Congress, for their contributions to space exploration.<\/p>\n

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Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Christine Darden were awarded the distinction along with other women for their contributions to developing the U.S. space program during the decades-long space race. <\/p>\n

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the women and said they \u201cmade it possible for Earthlings to lift beyond the bounds of Earth, and for generations of trailblazers to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pioneers that we honor today, these Hidden Figures \u2014 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,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n

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\n Female NASA employees hired to perform mathematics calculations and known as “human computers” are shown here in 1950: (from left) Dorothy Vaughan, Leslie Hunter and Vivian Adair.
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While working at a segregated department at NASA\u2019s 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, which allowed the U.S. to be the first to land on the moon, beating the Soviet Union during the heated space race between the two countries. <\/p>\n