Ever wonder how NASA launches rocket ships into space? None of that would be possible without people such as Mary Jackson!

Mary Jackson was born on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, Virginia as Mary Winston. 

Always a strong student, she graduated school with honors and went on to college. She worked hard and graduated with two degrees, in mathematics and physical engineering. 

In 1944, Mary married Levi Jackson, and they had two children. 

After college, she became a math teacher. She went on to work in various jobs, such as a receptionist and a bookkeeper, until in 1951 she got a job with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as a mathematician. 

In the early days of computers, before tablets and smartphones, Mary Jackson was one of a group of female engineers known as "human computers". 

These women played an important role in the early years of the space program and the Apollo project. They were responsible for calculating the flight paths for the famous Apollo 11!

In later years, these women inspired the book “Hidden Figures”, which was eventually turned into a movie. 

In 1953 she worked with engineer Kazimierz Czarnecki. They worked on a supersonic pressure tunnel, a wind tunnel that tested out forces of wind at high speeds. 

Kazimierz encouraged her to go back to school to become an engineer. 

Mary went back to school, where she had to get special permission to study with the white students in the program.