Remember When: The Moon Mission You’ve Never Heard Of—and the Women Who Made It Possible

On July 31, 1964, Ranger 7 became the first American spacecraft to successfully photograph the Moon up close. Just 17 minutes before crashing into the lunar surface, it transmitted over 4,300 stunning images—crystal-clear glimpses of the Moon that helped pave the way for the Apollo missions and, five years later, Neil Armstrong’s famous steps.

But behind those moonbound images was a vast team here on Earth—engineers, programmers, mathematicians, and analysts—many of whom history has overlooked.

Women worked on these missions. Women of color made them possible.

While Ranger 7's success is often credited to men in white shirts and black ties at Mission Control, the reality is richer and more complex. Black women like Melba Roy Mouton, a mathematician and project leader at NASA, played key roles in trajectory analysis. Annie Easley developed computer code that later helped power rockets and shuttles. And though Katherine Johnson is best known for her Apollo work, her early calculations informed orbital mechanics during this same era.

They fought sexism. They faced racism. They weren’t given the spotlight—but they illuminated the path to the stars.

Ranger 7 wasn't just a technological triumph; it was a reminder of what public commitment to science and collaboration can achieve. At a time when space exploration is increasingly privatized and STEM equity remains an uphill battle, we remember the quiet brilliance of the women who helped launch us forward.

Progress in space begins with progress on Earth. Let’s keep pushing for both.

Photo credit: Wikipedia