Katherine Johnson, née Katherine Coleman, also known as (1939–56) Katherine Goble, (born August 26, 1918, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S. died February 24, 2020, Newport News, Virginia), American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon. Coleman’s intelligence and skill with numbers became apparent when she was a child; by the time she was 10 years old, she had started attending high school. In 1937, at age 18, Coleman graduated with highest honours from West Virginia State College
NASA’s pioneering mathematician Katherine Johnson passed away on Monday at the age of 101. Katherine Johnson’s calculations helped get the first Americans to space and back safely.
Using an artistic technique dating back to the Renaissance era known as a “triangle” perspective, artist Hubert Jackson establishes a layered hierarchy to convey contributions made by Black women and men in the space program.
As NASA prepares to send the first person of color to the moon, it serves as a stark reminder of the space agency’s long road toward embracing diversity and inclusion.