Question

Write a paragraph that explains how Katherine Johnson contributed to the space program and why her actions were so important and extraordinary.

Answer 1

Katherine Johnson was a NASA mathematician who played a key role in numerous NASA missions during the Space Race, perhaps most notably calculating the trajectory needed to get the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and back. As a black woman working for NASA in the 1950s and '60s, Johnson overcame social boundaries and racial discrimination. Her impressive career was the subject of the 2016 book and movie "Hidden Figures."