New Site Spotlights Women’s Achievements at NASA

March 18, 2011 — NASA debuted this week its new website that celebrates women’s contributions to science and exploration. The Women at NASA website was developed to encourage more young women to pursue careers in math, science, and technology. Through a collection of videos and articles, the Women@NASA project shares the stories of 32 women across the agency who contribute to NASA’s mission in many ways. “We hope that these stories will inspire girls everywhere to reach for the stars, and explore the myriad of opportunities available,” the website states. The website includes stories, such as about Maria Noack, who went from being a waitress to working at NASA, where she takes a leading role in physics. So how did she get a job at NASA? Well, first she graduated with a degree in theater from the University of California. Click on her link above to read about the rest of her story. Janet Petro, on the other hand, took the route you’d expect. She went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduated, and today shares responsibility managing the Kennedy Space Center team of approximately 15,000 civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing center policy, and managing and executing Kennedy missions and agency program responsibilities. Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger’s parents were teachers, who encouraged their daughter to learn and explore. After a visit to a planetarium, one of her favorite pastimes became stargazing. But instead of going right to NASA when she was older, Metcalf-Lindenburger went on to become a teacher. It was a question from one of her students — how do astronauts go to the bathroom in space – that led her to the NASA website where she learned about the educator astronaut position and decided to apply. A year later, she was called in for an interview, and on April 5, 2010, she climbed into space shuttle Discovery and flew to the International Space Station, working with the STS-131 crew. The site also includes a link to information on careers and internships.

A screen shot of the new Women@NASA website A screenshot of the new Women@NASA website

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