FAREWELL TO KATHERINE JOHNSON: SHE TOOK THE MAN TO THE MOON - LIFESTYLE

Farewell to Katherine Johnson: she took man into space and to the moon

Katherine Johnson died at the age of 101, without which man would never have flown into space or set foot on the moon, or, at least, he would have had to wait longer to succeed. Nasa, the US space agency of which Katherine was the first African-American scientist, gave the sad announcement on social media. “Tonight we count the stars and remember a pioneer” and again “We are saddened by the disappearance of the famous mathematician Katherine Johnson. Her spirit and determination have helped us lead a new era in space exploration, and we are grateful to her for that. "

"Human computer", as it had been nicknamed because of the accuracy of its calculations, considered far more reliable than computerized ones, so much so that astronaut John Glenn expected the latter to always be personally verified by her.

From racial segregation to the Apollo 11 mission

Katherine's story begins way back in August 26, 1918, when she was born in Virginia to an all-doing lumberjack father and teacher mother. Her parents soon teach her the value of education and, despite the years of apartheid, Katherine even manages to attend college. After the United States Supreme Court recognizes the right to study for some black students, in 1938 Katherine became the first African-American woman to enter graduate school at West Virginia University.

After graduation, physics and mathematics arrives at the Langley Research Center, where it shows off its enormous potential. Armed with rudimentary tools such as ruler and pencil, Katherine is able to calculate the flight path of Alan Shepard, the first American to fly into space, and makes possible the Apollo 11 mission, thanks to which man lands on the moon for the first time in history.

"The right to count"

Katherine, however, did not do it all by herself. These successes, in fact, were the result of teamwork carried out together with Dorothy Vaughan, mathematician and programmer, and Mary Jackson, space engineer. Those were the dark years of the Second World War, many men had left for the front and they were hired only as "stopgaps". However, never before was it clear that women also deserved an opportunity to demonstrate what they were made of. Their attention was maximum, nothing could be taken for granted and, despite the continuous discrimination they suffered, there was not a day when they did not give their thousand per thousand. It is only in 2016, however, that these names get the recognition they deserve. Their story is, in fact, told by the director Theodore Melfi in the film “The right to count” (Hidden figures), which receives enormous acclaim.

Women and science: a perfect combination

In 2015, Katherine was even awarded the highest civilian honor made in the USA, the Medal of Freedom, by the then President of the United States, Barack Obama.

During her long life, Katherine has repeatedly struggled with sexism and racism, still managing to win all her battles.The woman, with her own example, has also shown that one can deal with science regardless of one's biological sex, effectively overcoming the gender gap that affects STEM subjects even before this sad phenomenon was recognized. Today, looking at the sky, we will see a new star shine, the brightest of all.