Rise of the Rocket Girls

In the 1940s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) needed quick-thinking mathematicians, it recruited an elite group of young women--known as human computers--who, with only pencil, paper and brain power, helped bring about America's first ballistic missiles.  But their hearts lay in the dream of space exploration, and when JPL became part of NASA, the "computers" helped send the first probes to the moon.  Later, through their efforts, we launched the ships that showed us the contours of our solar system.This is their story.For the first time, Nathalia Holt tells their tales, illuminating the women who charted a course not only for the future of space exploration but also for the prospects of female scientists.