China News Service, February 25. According to the "Central News Agency" report, on the 24th local time, Katherine Johnson, an African-American female mathematician who participated in NASA's multiple space programs, died at the age of 101. As a groundbreaking African-American scientist at NASA, her story has been adapted into the film "Hidden People."
It is reported that it is precisely because of the parameters calculated by Johnson that humans successfully landed on the moon for the first time in 1969, but until 2016, before the film "Hidden People", which described three African women working at NASA, Her story is little known.
Data map: On the evening of July 19, 2019 local time, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the human landing on the moon, the Washington Monument in the United States staged the "Apollo 50 Years: Forward Moon" light show. Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong
NASA Administrator Bradenstein said, "She is an American hero and her legendary history will be immortal." Bradenstein praised her courage and said that without Johnson, many milestones would not be reached.
Astronaut Ellen Shepard reportedly became the first American to enter space in 1961. The sub-orbital parameters of the mission that year were calculated by Johnson and a colleague, and they were also the first scientists to calculate this parameter. .
She continued to use her mathematical talents to help calculate the flight trajectory of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, allowing Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon for the first time in July 1969.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama presented Johnson with the highest honor for civilians during his tenure in 2015.
"Hidden People" was nominated for an Oscar in 2017. When Johnson attended the ceremony at the age of 98, he was warmly applauded by the audience.