Nichelle Nichols Promotes NASA astronuat program
Channel: US National Archives
Date: 2023-03-08

Happy International Women’s Day! 

Our Motion Picture Lab staff recently digitized some films highlighting the work of actress Nichelle Nichols to recruit a more diverse field of astronauts and other personnel for NASA in 1978. This clip is from a series of outtakes.

Nichols is best known for her portrayal of Lt. Uhura in “Star Trek.” In the 1970s, Nichelle and her consulting firm, Woman in Motion, Inc., began an affiliation with NASA to help the agency recruit women and minority personnel. 

The program was a success and is credited with recruiting Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut; Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African American astronaut; and many others.

Women have worked for NASA and its predecessor NACA (founded in 1915) since the early days of American aeronautical research. In 1922, Pearl Young became the first female professional hired at NACA. Mary Jackson, portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures,” was hired in 1958, making her the first Black female engineer. 

The first Asian American woman to work for NASA, Josephine Jue, was hired in 1963. Jue was the sole Asian American when she was hired. In her 34 years at NASA, she contributed to both the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.

You can see more footage of Nichols and learn more about the women who have contributed to the success of the space program at the Unwritten Records blog (unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov).