What lady would take mathematics instead of Latin?
Nancy Roman — The Mother of Hubble
Nancy Roman has lived an extraordinary life.
A talented astronomer, NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, and a lifelong champion of women in science.
She even became the “mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Nancy Grace Roman was born in 1925 in Nashville, Tennessee —
— the only daughter of a music teacher and a geophysicist.
Though her father was a physicist, it was Roman’s mother who awakened her interest in astronomy.
I’ve been interested in it as long as I can remember.
I blamed my mother, because she used to take me out and show me the constellations
and show me the Northern lights and things like that.
This early appreciation of the night sky sparked a lifelong passion.
By the age of eleven, Nancy Roman had already formed an astronomy club and began to study astronomy on her own.
I’ve think I’ve always been curious, and —
— I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity.
Astronomy in particular was a subject I wanted to learn more about.
Nancy followed her dream and became a professional astronomer,
working in the new discipline of radio astronomy.
And in 1961 she became the first Chief of Astronomy in the Office of Space Science at NASA —
— the first woman to hold an executive position in the agency.
At NASA, Nancy Roman was instrumental in developing the first space observatories
and in paving the way for the most famous orbital observatory of all: the Hubble Space Telescope.
Other scientists had proposed a large space telescope, but it was Nancy who made it happen.
She brought together astronomers, NASA engineers, and the cutting-edge technology.
Engineers and scientists don’t talk exactly the same language, they have a different job.
Astronomers — well, scientists in general — are trying to understand why, engineers are trying to understand how,
and I found myself actually acting somewhat as an interpreter between them.
She united not only scientists and engineers, but also those who would fund Hubble.
Nancy was able to convince politicians that NASA and ESA should join forces and work together
to realise a large space telescope.
All of Nancy Roman’s hard work paid off in 1990,
when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope took to the skies
and began to unveil the Universe in greater detail than ever before.
For her achievements and her determination to bring young women into science and engineering,
Nancy Roman has been honoured with medals and awards.
An asteroid was named after her and she even appeared in a Lego set.
But Nancy Roman’s greatest legacy may be Hubble itself.
Even after 28 years, this telescope continues to give us a unique view of our beautiful Universe.
Subtitles: ESA/Hubble; Transcription by ---