Women have always played a critical role in NASA’s history. Today, the women of NASA continue to lead and inspire in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). NASA is committed to recruiting and retaining women in STEM to help the agency continue to push boundaries to achieve the impossible. Are you ready to explore the extraordinary, every day? Search all jobs here.
NASA Women in Science
Science helps us learn about the world around us. Meet some of the women at NASA who are leading the way both in the laboratory and in the field.
Studying comet and asteroid samples may seem like science fiction, but it’s all in a day’s work for Dr. Keiko Nakamura-Messenger, Planetary Mission Research Scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The Kansai, Japan native began her work with NASA as an intern in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division which is charged with preserving NASA’s collection of extraterrestrial samples and providing them to the global scientific community for research. She is now the lead of sample site science, the deputy curation lead of the OSIRIS-REx mission, and a science team member of the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission. This summer marks the beginning of a new era in sample return missions, as NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrives at asteroid Bennu and the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft arrives at asteroid Ryugu. Each probe will collect surface samples and return them to Earth for laboratory study.
“I enjoy being able to touch samples from comets and asteroids before anyone else and revealing secrets out of them,” Nakamura-Messenger said. “Asteroids and comets are time capsules from the very beginnings of our solar system that preserve remnants of stardust, interstellar materials and the first solids to form in the solar system,” Nakamura-Messenger said. “These primitive planetary bodies may hold answers to what the original organic ingredients were on the early Earth that may have led to the emergence of life. These types of studies not only help us to understand how life on Earth began, but also bring us closer to determining the prospects for life emerging on Mars or icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn that may have sub-surface oceans.”
Meet more NASA women of science:
NASA Women in Technology
Technology drives exploration. Meet some of the women at NASA who are making advances in robotics, space exploration and more.
Mary Beth Wusk started at NASA Langley as a summer intern. During her NASA tenure, she has worked complex technology development projects on aircraft, suborbital launch vehicles, low earth orbit satellites and platforms targeting Mars and beyond. With her background in physics and electrical engineering, she has supported and led teams that delivered cross-cutting technologies in ground and flight hardware systems. Mary Beth now uses her technology development background and leadership skills serving as the Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Analysis, Communication and Business Development. One of Mary Beth’s passions is encouraging student participation in NASA’s many missions, especially in hands-on projects. She enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, all of whom are actively involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“ I chose engineering because I was interested in learning how things work and engineering gave me that path to do it,” Wusk said. “To work at NASA is to be part of a team of people who love technology and believe in improving the future. It provides an opportunity to foster new and creative ideas to make a difference in people’s lives.”
“I would say my greatest accomplishment is that I’ve been able to achieve my professional goals while raising an active family and being involved in my community. When you believe in the purpose of what you do both at work and home, it makes it exciting to face the challenges each day brings. My personal goal is share my excitement for working at NASA beyond our gates to inspire the next generation.”
Meet more women in technology:
NASA Women in Engineering
Brittani Sims supports NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She first came to Kennedy as an intern after applying to a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program called NASA’s MUST, or Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology. The education program was designed to develop STEM expertise for groups that were underrepresented in the workforce.
“I was able to do meaningful work as a junior in college with this program,” Sims said. “I was hired full-time at the completion of my degree from Morgan State University. I had finally made it to NASA. My job is to support integration with our partner, SpaceX,” said Sims. She helps manage review milestones and tracks the partner’s progress on their design updates to meet NASA requirements, deliver certification products and complete safety assessments. “I collaborate with the systems offices to ensure requirements are met before we fly. This is exactly the kind of work I wanted to do when I set a goal of working for NASA.”
“I am a part of a team with unique backgrounds that’s working together to launch astronauts from U.S. soil,” said Sims. “It’s interesting to experience how we move from a piece of paper to seeing hardware actually built. We are taking our program’s mission and making it into a reality.”
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NASA Women in Mathematics
Mathematics is an important foundation for many of NASA's endeavors. Meet some of the women at NASA who make mathematics count.
Spotlight: Hashima Hasan's Road to NASA
Hashima Hasan’s love for space started when, as a five-year old, she stood in her grand parents’ backyard in Lucknow, India and watched Sputnik go by overhead. She had no idea how she would achieve her dream to become a scientist and attend Oxford University, as her uncle and grand uncles had done. But achieve it, she did. Her ultimate goal to work for NASA materialized in 1994, when she joined NASA Headquarters to manage missions and research programs in Astrophysics. Since then she has been the Program Scientist for twelve flight missions, twice for the Explorer Program, and Lead for the Astrophysics Research and Analysis Program. She is currently a Program Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope and lead for Astrophysics Education and Public Outreach.
“The road to a scientific career was not easy.” Hasan said. “When my girls-only school offered an opportunity for the most talented girls to study science in high school, I worked to earn my chance. Women teachers were difficult to find; my classmates and I often taught ourselves by reading our text books and discussing amongst ourselves. I taught myself mathematics from my brother’s textbooks to qualify for college. Girls were treated with awe at the university, particularly those who excelled in mathematics. I experienced this even at Oxford, where saying that I was studying Theoretical Physics was such a conversation stopper at parties that I stopped telling people my major! Rather than be discouraged, I was motivated to show to the world that I could be the best.”
Meet other women in mathematics:
Johanna Lucht: A Love of Math Leads to Becoming NASA’s First Deaf Engineer
Erica Alston: A Big Fish in a Small Pond No Longer?
Michelle Haupt: An Engineer With a Love for Math
Erica Alston: A Big Fish in a Small Pond No Longer?
Michelle Haupt: An Engineer With a Love for Math
Last Updated: April 2, 2018
Editor: Rachael Blodgett
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