Reaching for the Stars

Women in Astronomy

Hashima Hasan

March 2024

Leadership starts with a dream.? I will never forget those magical days growing up in Lucknow, India, and staring with wonder at the star-studded dark skies clear of industrial and light pollution.? In those heady days when the euphoria of independence from British rule was still fresh, I dared to dream of one day following my uncle, Dr. Nurul Hasan, to the University of Oxford. My interest in space exploration and science was ignited both by a signature event, when my grandmother gathered the whole family in the backyard of the family home to see Sputnik go across the early dawn skies of Lucknow, and by my own fascination with observing nature, especially during the monsoon when there was new burst of life.? My fascination with space continued as I met Yuri Gagarin when he visited Lucknow, followed the space race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., and the human landing on the Moon.? I also met Valentina Tereshkova when she visited New Delhi, and still treasure the silk scarf she gifted me. My passion was nurtured by my mother and teachers at my school, Loreto Convent Girls’ High School.? They also instilled in me the values of hard work, honesty and self-confidence.?

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I was fortunate to be in the first batch of students at Loreto Convent, who had the opportunity to study science.? Our new headmistress, Mother Bernardine, had just returned from USA with the revolutionary idea that girls could study science.? From those who expressed an interest in pursuing science, a small group was selected.? Finding women science teachers in those days was a challenge, and it was through the dedication of those teachers and the determination of us students, that we excelled in the final exams.? Several of us went on to attend College and pursue careers is scientific fields.? As a female student, I was unable to take up Astronomy as a subject in college, as it required night-time observing.? After completing my Bachelor's of Science from Lucknow University, I obtained a Master's of Science (Physics) degree at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) with first position and a gold medal. ?I started a Ph. D. program at AMU, and was fortunate to get admission into the University of Oxford (Lady Margaret Hall), and a Commonwealth Scholarship, which enabled me to earn my D. Phil.? (Theoretical Nuclear Physics).?

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Thereafter, I reached several cross-roads that took me to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, as a research scientist, University of Poona, Pune, on the faculty of the Physics Department, before landing on the shores of U.S.A., as a young bride.? My meandering path to NASA started as a research scientist at Duke University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency amongst the tobacco fields and forests of North Carolina; a short hiatus back to India, where I worked at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Bombay; followed by Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Baltimore, where I wrote the optical simulation software for the soon to be launched Hubble Space Telescope and its science instruments, before joining NASA Headquarters as Visiting Senior Scientist and later as a Civil Servant.?

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At STScI (Space Telecope Science Institute), I got my first opportunity to conduct research in Astronomy.? In 1985, STScI was barely four years old and still finding its feet.? As a new immigrant, a female scientist ?and a young mother, I faced many challenges.? The atmosphere at STScI was both welcoming and intimidating.? While my work was appreciated, a small percentage of time carved out for me to conduct research in astronomy, and accommodation made for me to choose my work hours, I was not always treated at par with my male colleagues.? With a new generation of scientists, I see a dramatic shift in this regard, making STScI a stronger institution for the most outstanding scientists.? Nevertheless, work at STScI was exciting.? I had never worked on a space telescope before, and while I was fascinated with optics, it was a new experience for me to pick up the blueprints of the ray diagram of the Wide-Field and Planetary Camera (WPPC) and write the optical simulation software under the guidance of Dr. Chris Burrows. My greatest achievement at STScI as the Optical Telescope Assembly Scientist, was keeping Hubble in the “best” focus when the optical error was discovered after launch in 1990, working with the team to characterize the error so a fix could be designed, working with the COSTAR team in the optical testing phase, and bringing the telescope in “best” focus during the first servicing mission in 1992 so that COSTAR could be deployed.

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In collaboration with my colleague, Dr. Colin Norman, I utilized my research time for a theoretical study of stellar orbits in barred galaxies, and to examine the effect of a central mass concentration on the orbits and the ensuing bar shape. The work was well received and opened up a field that was pursued by several astronomers. At STScI, I got the opportunity to meet leading astronomers in the world.? We had a string of visiting astronomers who cross pollinated ideas.? Our fearless leader, Dr. Riccardo Giacconi, who was the Director, gave us full freedom to conduct research.

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At NASA Headquarters, I switched from the academic world to leading research programs and flight missions in Astrophysics for NASA, and to managing multi-million dollar budgets.? It was overwhelming to think that with the stroke of my pen I could change the lives of people.? It did not take long for me to get acquainted with the top researchers and academics.? I visited research labs around the country, represented NASA at scientific conferences internationally, negotiated with partners on joint programs.? I was the Program Scientist for space telescopes that observed the visible and ultraviolet light emitted by objects beyond our own solar system.? The missions I managed include the iconic International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE),? Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope aboard the Astro-2 mission, Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) launched on the Space Shuttle for a 14-day mission, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), Hubble Space Telescope.? In addition to visible and ultraviolet missions, I also managed Gravity Probe – B, a mission to test two predictions of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity; Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an airborne observatory on a modified Boeing 747 SP aircraft; Wide-field Infrared Spectroscopic Explorer (WISE), which surveyed the infrared sky.? In 2019, I took under my wing, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which is an X-ray telescope to study collapsed stars and black holes, understand how stars explode and elements are created, study relativistic jets from extreme active galaxies hosting supermassive black holes, and other extreme phenomena emitting X-rays, and in 2023, the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).? Ground-breaking discoveries by these missions on the formation and interaction of stars, galaxies, and phenomena in the Universe can be found on https://science.nasa.gov .? I led the re-organization of the Explorer Program in 1997 to enable researchers build missions more efficiently for conducting focused science.? In 2001, I was appointed the first Lead of the Research and Analysis (R&A) Program in the newly re-structured Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters.? I consolidated disparate research elements and created a unified program element that evolved into the now well established Astronomy and Physics Research and Analysis (APRA) program.

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Perhaps, the most challenging Astrophysics missions at NASA, I have been Program/ Deputy Program Scientist of is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).? In particular, I recall the day September 11, 2001.? It was a beautiful, crisp morning in Washington, with a clear blue sky and a nip in the air signaling the onset of Fall, as I walked towards NASA Headquarters.? There was a feeling of exhilaration, as I was about to lead a review to decide which NASA Center would manage the newest instrument we had selected for our next flagship mission, the Next Generation Space Telescope, later renamed the James Webb Space Telescope.?? Little did I know that in a couple of hours the world would change forever – New York, Washington DC, and central Pennsylvania, would be under a terror attack.? That was the day when for the first time in my life, as I stepped out in the streets of Washington DC in the afternoon, there was an eerie silence.? Other than the police, there was not a soul on the freshly barricaded streets.? Standing alone on the platform in the bowels of the Washington DC metro system, I jumped on to the first train that came to get out of the city.? That was the kind of bewilderment playing out all over the country, and indeed the world.? That was the day the age of innocence in the US ended forever.?

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As leaders, it was our duty to keep our teams motivated and recover from the tragedy of 9/11.? Another major setback came with the start of the CoVid pandemic in 2020.? We were close to the integration and testing of JWST to make its launch date of October 2020, when the pandemic hit.? We worked quickly as a team to re-plan the work and re-work the schedule, while keeping the morale up of those in the field.? Perhaps, one of the first lessons I learned about leadership, without being aware of it, is that one must show compassion for those around them.? Never one to push myself forward, I believed in leading by example.? Whether it was as the Treasurer of the Science Club in school; Treasurer of the Middle Common Room at LMH; leader of my own scientific research; teaching University students; leading programs at NASA; I had to earn the trust and respects of the team.

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My leisure hours are often intertwined with my work activities.? Since my childhood, I have been passionate about reading and travel.? My father’s work took us camping in India adjacent to field of sugarcane or mustard plants; dams and factories being newly constructed; inside coal mines; to a nuclear power plant; and vacations in mountain resorts in the mighty Himalaya mountains. As a student at Oxford, I toured the U.K. with friends by road, wandered around Europe by train, hiked across glaciers in the French Alps.? Coming to the New World, I enjoyed the wide-open spaces of North Carolina, the great Smoky Mountains, the majestic Rockies and Sierra Nevada that I had read about in geography books at school, the tundra of Alaska.? I later visited several other states as well as Mexico, Columbia, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. In addition to personal vacations, as a scientist and a NASA official, I got opportunities to visit several states in the US as well as far flung countries such as Korea, Japan, Honduras, Argentina. ?The unique culture of each place is fascinating.

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When not traveling, I like reading both fiction and historical novels.? I also enjoy the theatre and music concerts.? Another favorite hobby is cooking.? At the end of a work day, I find it relaxing and creative to prepare a dish.? I have a whole array of spices and by choosing and mixing them according to my mood, always guarantees a new creation at every meal.

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I reached out for the stars as a little girl. As the Deputy Program Scientist of the James Webb Telescope, a technological wonder which is enabling humankind to unlock mysteries of the formation of the early Universe, I am achieving my dream.? As I see the promise of ground-breaking science in the spectacular images and spectra from Webb, I feel a sense of pride and achievement that I played a leading role in enabling scientific teams circumvent challenges to put up the instrumentation they needed to deliver the science and those incredible images of our universe.? It is the same sky that I stared at in Lucknow, that JWST is exploring today.? To every little girl who stares with wonder at the sky or a planetarium screen, or the young woman whose passion for astronomy was stoked by a seminal event, and dreams of unraveling the secrets of those mysterious objects, I would advise to pursue your curiosity.? We have seen only a very tiny speck of what is out there.? We have to catch up on 13.6 billion years of cosmic history.? You can start by mining the data from the NASA archives as you move to greater heights in your ambition to reach for the stars. A career in space science or exploration is not only intellectually stimulating, but gives you the critical thinking and capabilities to face a multitude of problems in life.?

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