History was made for the US in July 1969 when two men Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. However, the whole process
requires more people for a successful landing. Who made it possible for American
astronauts to set foot on the moon? It was a software engineer by the name Margret
Hamilton.
The engineer developed the on-board computer programs that
powered NASA’s Apollo missions including the 1969 moon landing.
According to CNN, on July 18, 2019 Google unveiled a giant
tribute to Hamilton in California’s Mojave Desert where more than 107,000
mirrors were positioned to reflect moonlight and form her image for one night.
“She developed a guidance computer program, the lifeline for
astronauts that controlled the spacecraft,” Google stated in announcing the
artist honor during the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to celebrate
her contribution to science and space travel.
Hamilton developed a fault-free system that took care of any tech
issues that would have interfered with the journey of reaching the moon.
She would go with her daughter Lauren to work during weekends
and she would play in the simulator. After Lauren crashed the simulator by
hitting a button while the craft was in flight, Hamilton programmed backstops
to prevent an astronaut from dong the same mid-flight, a mistake that would cause
serious consequences in space.
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