Fairfax, Virginia (April 28, 1929 -June 25, 1990) 61 yrs

Melba Roy Mouton was an African American mathematician and NASA Assistant Chief of Research Programs who led the team of “human computers” that calculated and tracked the orbits of Echo 1 and 2 satellites in the 1960s. Mouton held key leadership roles at NASA in the 1960s, serving as Assistant Chief of Research Programs in the Trajectory and Geodynamics Division. Her team calculated spacecraft paths and tracked satellites during Project Echo. Her precision and guidance quietly shaped NASA’s early satellite missions and paved the way for space-age computing.  A Howard University math graduate, she advanced to Head Computer Programmer and Program Production Section Chief, earned NASA’s Apollo Achievement and Exceptional Performance Awards, and was honored in 2022 with the naming of lunar Mons Mouton.