NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson calculated the path that put a man on the moon.

Despite her incredible contributions to America's space agency, Johnson remained largely unknown until the blockbuster film "Hidden Figures" spotlighted her accomplishments.

Johnson died on February 24, 2020. She was 101 years old.

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NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson calculated the path that put a man on the moon and catapulted America to first place in the race to space.

Despite her tremendous contributions to America's space programs, Johnson, a black woman, remained a "hidden figure" for much of her life — until the 2016 movie "Hidden Figures" spotlighted how she turned Americans' space dreams into reality.

"There's no protocol for women attending," a white man says in a suit holding a sheaf of papers.

"There's no protocol for a man circling the Earth either, sir," Taraji P. Henson retorts.

Henson plays Johnson, a brilliant mathematician at NASA working on the space program in its earliest days, beginning in the 1950s. Many of NASA's first missions were made possible by Johnson's intrepid, unparalleled calculations.

The movie is based on a nonfiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, who grew up near NASA's Langley Research Center, where Johnson and her colleagues worked.

Johnson lived near Langley in Hampton, Virginia, until her death on Monday. She was 101 years old.

Here's the true story of her incredible life.