Katherina Johnson, a NASA mathematician who played a key role in sending humans to the moon, dies at 1014Photo1Video© firstpost.com

Katherina Johnson, a NASA mathematician who played a key role in sending humans to the moon, dies at 101

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Katherine Johnson, the black woman whose mathematical genius took her from a behind-the-scenes job in a segregated NASA as portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures” to a key role in sending humans to the moon, died on Monday at the age of 101, NASA said.

“Our NASA family is sad to learn the news that Katherine Johnson passed away this morning at 101 years old,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine posted to Twitter. “She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten.”

Johnson was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama in 2015 and in 2016 he cited her in his State of the Union Address as an example of America’s spirit of discovery.