Apollo 11 landing software developer Margaret Hamilton has died

American programmer and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who led the development of software for the Apollo space program, has died at the age of 90. Her death was reported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), writes The Guardian.

Hamilton began programming at a time when the professions of programmer and computer scientist were not yet widespread. She worked at MIT, where she helped create aircraft detection software.

After MIT was awarded a NASA contract to develop onboard software for the Apollo spacecraft, Hamilton took the lead. The software developed by her team was used during lunar missions.

On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft took off from the site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four days later, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface.

In 2016, Barack Obama (then President of the United States) awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the nation’s highest civilian awards.