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Mary Golda Ross (Cherokee) was a mathematician and engineer whose role in America's space age is largely unknown. She started her career teaching math and science in Cherokee schools through the Great Depression.
Then in 1942, she got a job with Lockheed assisting the engineering team developing one of their first aircraft, the P-38 Lightning. Lockheed’s team that developed the P-38 was known as Advanced Development Projects, nick-named Skunk Works. The work that goes on at Lockheed’s Skunk Works has remained largely secret to this day. In 1952, Mary joined Skunk Works as a founding engineer—the only woman on the team besides the secretary. She worked on early space projects, including satellites and missiles. Mary developed operational requirements for spacecraft, which set the parameters for the Apollo program, and later she was an author of NASA’s Planetary Flight Handbook, making what were probably the first studies of mechanics for missions to Mars and Venus.
After a long career at Lockheed, Mary retired at age 65. She dedicated the next 30 years of her life to encouraging young women and Native youth to pursue careers in science, engineering, and math.
Just three months shy of 100 years old, Mary joined her ancestors, the first rocket scientist among them. Mary referred to the Cherokee values of education and preparation for the future as key in her life. She loved math, but also believed it would unlock the ability to solve problems.
“Ad Astra per Astra” art by America Meredith (Cherokee), 2011. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
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