Katherine Johnson was an African American mathematician who worked for NASA and played a crucial role in the success of the United States' space program. She calculated trajectories for numerous space missions, including the first human spaceflight by an American, Alan Shepard, and the first human orbital flight by John Glenn. Her work was instrumental in the success of the Apollo moon landing mission. Johnson's contributions to the field of space exploration were recognized with numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
