TODAY'S CHOICE FOR WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH IS KATHERINE JOHNSON, A BRILLIANT MATHEMETICIAN KNOWN AS 'THE HUMAN COMPUTER' WHO WAS ALSO ONE OF THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN TO WORK AS A NASA SCIENTIST. HER CALCULATIONS OF ORBITAL MECHANICS WERE CRITICAL TO THE MERCURY SPACE PROGRAM, INCLUDING THE MISSIONS OF ALAN SHEPARD AND JOHN GLENN, RENDEZOUS PATHS FOR THE APOLLO LUNAR MODULE AND THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM.