Space History Photo: Rare Woman Physicist at NASA in 1957

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A rare sight — a woman physicist at the NASA Lewis Research Center. (Image credit: NASA)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, one of the rare women physicists at NASA works on an atomic laboratory experiment at the Lewis Research Center in 1957. The experiment  pushed a gas at low pressure through a high-voltage discharge.

NASA today has a web site devoted to highlighting women who work at the agency, with one goal being to “inspire girls everywhere to reach for the stars and explore the myriad of opportunities available to them through pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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U.S. Space Agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. government agency in charge of the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA is a civilian space agency aimed at exploring the universe with space telescopes,  satellites, robotic spacecraft, astronauts and more. The space agency has 10 major centers based across the U.S. and launches robotic and crewed missions from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. It's astronaut corps is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. To follow NASA's latest mission, follow the space agency on Twitter or any other social channel, of visit: nasa.gov