Judith Love Cohen!

Have you ever heard of the woman who helped bring astronauts safely back to Earth, wrote books for kids, and had a connection to a famous actor? Well, that woman is Judith Love Cohen. She was smart, and she was amazing! She was way ahead of her time, not only as a mom, but as a scientist and engineer. She lived and worked to show the world that girls can be great at math, science, and engineering, even when people told them they couldn't do it.

In 1970, Judith worked as an engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, (NASA). Her main job was to work on the Guidance and Navigation System for spacecraft. This system is like a super-smart GPS that helps a spaceship know where it is and where it’s going. She was one of the engineers that developed the Abort Guidance System for the Apollo Lunar Module. This backup system was used during the Apollo 13 mission after an oxygen tank exploded while the astronauts were on their way to the moon. Without that system the Apollo 13 astronauts would have died on their way back to Earth.

Judith was very proud of her job and her family. She encouraged her children to dream big and do what they truly loved. She had four children and still worked hard at her job. One of her sons became a famous actor and comedian. He was in movies like School of Rock and Kung Fu Panda. Can you guess who he is? It’s Jack Black. You would never know her son would do something so different from Judith. Don’t worry though, Jack’s brother, Neil, became an engineer like his mother. She was proof that you can succeed in both your career and family when people around you did not think you could do it.

This NASA engineer also wanted all kids around the world to learn about science and math in fun ways. To help with that, Judith became a children’s book author. She started her own publishing company and wrote books to encourage kids to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). She wanted to encourage all kids, but especially girls, to go into science or math careers.

Judith Love Cohen is remembered as a strong woman who made the world a better place and influenced a lot of people. She helped astronauts, built technology for space travel, wrote books for kids, and raised a family. Her six big career accomplishments included working on the Apollo 13 project, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Lunar Module, satellites, creating her own publishing company, and writing children’s books. Judith showed that with curiosity and hard work you can do anything you choose.