Maria Mitchell was a leader in the astronomy field due to her efforts and discoveries. In 1847, she became the first woman to discover a comet 1847 (named Miss Mitchell’s Comet in her honor). One of the very first professors at Vassar College, she taught young women to learn through direct observations and analysis. She worked hard as an educator to encourage young women to become independent thinkers and reach for intellectual achievement at the school. Maria also advocated for women’s rights and helped to establish the American Association for the Advancement of Women. As a tribute to Maria for her contributions to science and women’s rights, the observatory on Vassar’s campus is named in her honor.

Sally Ride, Ph.D. was the youngest American astronaut and first American woman to travel to space in 1983. She worked alongside a team of engineers to develop a robotic arm that she would later use on later space missions. After retiring from the space program, she taught at universities and wrote children’s science books.

She co-founded Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego in 2001, a nonprofit organization to inspire young people in STEM and to promote STEM literacy. Their goal was to motivate more students (with a focus on girls and minority groups) to stick with STEM as they go through school. Sally served as CEO until her death in 2012.

Grace Hopper, Ph.D. received numerous awards for her work in the computer science industry. She joined the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) after receiving her master’s degree and a doctorate in mathematics from Yale University. Her team worked on Mark I, an early prototype of the electronic computer. It was during this project that she coined the term “bug.” She was also involved in the creation of UNIVAC, the first all-electronic digital computer.

She invented the first computer compiler, a program that translates written instructions into codes that computers read directly. Because of this work, she co-developed the COBOL, one of the earliest standardized computer languages that enabled computers to respond to words in addition to numbers. After retiring, she taught computer science in classes until her death on January 1, 1992.

Dr. Mae Jemison became the first woman of color to travel to space when Mission Spacelab-J took off on September 12, 1992! Since then, Dr. Jemison has been a strong advocate for science, social responsibility, and education. 

On top of serving as a NASA astronaut for six years, she has also founded two technology companies, created the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, and more! She is currently a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Women’s Hall of Fame and sits on the Board of Directors for Kimberly-Clark, Scholastic, and Valspar. You can learn more about her here.

Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian American astronaut and first female private space explorer on September 18, 2006. She is the co-founder of Prodea Systems, and before that, she served as co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Telecom Technologies, Inc. before their with Sonus Networks, Inc., in 2000.

Anousheh and her family have contributed to space exploration through their Ansari X Prize, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. From immigrating to America as a teenager who didn’t speak English, Anousheh has proved her success and leadership from the numerous board memberships and awards received.