Washington D.C, February 24: Katherine Johnson, one of the NASA mathematicians portrayed in the Oscar-nominated 2016 film 'Hidden Figures', died at the age of 101. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NASA broke the news that a mathematician who worked on NASA's early space missions and was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the film Hidden Figures, about pioneering black female aerospace workers has passed away.

The space agency in a Monday morning tweet said it celebrates her 101 years of life and her legacy of excellence and breaking down racial and social barriers."Our NASA family is sad to learn the news that Katherine Johnson passed away this morning at 101 years old.

NASA Tweet:

She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine posted to Twitter. Back in 2015, former US President Barack Obama awarded Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.

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