Nancy Grace Roman, widely acclaimed NASA scientist and pioneer of the Hubble Space Telescope. She is known as the ‘mother’ of the Hubble.Roman was also the first woman ever to hold an executive position at NASA.
Roman’s cousin, Laura Verreau, confirmed that her death after a prolonged illness on December 25,2018. Nancy Grace was 93.
Nancy Grace Roman, often referred to as the “Mother of Hubble,” passed away on Christmas Day. Dr. Roman was the first woman to hold an executive position at @NASA. Her contributions to this agency will live on and my prayers are with her family. https://t.co/by441lbS1T
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) December 28, 2018
Serving as the first chief of astronomy in the office of space science at NASA headquarters, Roman was the coordinator of planning and development of programs such as the Cosmic Background Explorer and the Hubble Space Telescope.
“During the 1960s and early 1970s there was no one at NASA who was more important in getting the first designs and concepts for Hubble funded and completed,” An excerpt from space historian Robert Zimmerman’s “The Universe in a Mirror,” an account of the creation of Hubble
Roman received in doctorate in Astronomy from the University of Chicago is 1949 and joined NASA ten years later in 1959. She served in NASA for 20 years.The last post she held at NASA was manager of the Astronomical Data Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
She retired in 1979 and continued to work as an independent contractor at Goddard.She was a protagonist of y women getting involved in science.
Lego released a set of figurines honoring four pioneering women of NASA in 2017. Roman was one of those women.
She once said in an interview “I ignored the many people who told me that I could not be an astronomer.”
A memorial service for Nancy Grace Roman is being planned.