To commemorate the 64th birth anniversary of American physicist and astronaut Sally Ride, Google has posted an animated doodle on its homepage.
On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride made history when she became the first American woman in space.Â
Sally was born on May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles. She grew up playing with a chemistry set and small telescope-and playing football in the streets with the neighborhood kids. Later she considered playing professional tennis, but decided instead to study science. She joined NASA in 1978 and became the first US woman in space at the age of 32.
As the first American woman in space, Sally Ride-who would have been 64 today-captured the nation’s imagination as a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers. But her historic flight represented just one aspect of a remarkable and multifaceted life. She was also a physicist, a science writer, and an inspirational advocate for keeping kids excited about science as they go through school.
She was the only person who served on the committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
Sally passed away on July 23, 2012, at the age of 61, seventeen months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.