Margaret Hamilton, the pioneering computer scientist whose software helped send astronauts to the Moon, has died at the age of 90.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology confirmed that Hamilton died on September 30, 2026. MIT described her as a computing pioneer whose work helped shape modern software engineering.
Hamilton joined MIT in 1959 and initially worked in meteorology. She later became the first programmer hired for the Apollo project at MIT and the first female programmer on the project.
By 1968, she was assistant director responsible for the Apollo Command and Service Module software team. More than 400 people were working on Apollo software during that period.
Hamilton played a crucial role in developing software for NASA’s Apollo Guidance Computer.
Her work became especially important during the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
About three minutes before the Eagle lunar module landed on the Moon, the onboard computer became overloaded. Hamilton’s software prioritised critical tasks and allowed the mission to continue safely.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman paid tribute to Hamilton, calling her a pioneer whose work helped make humanity’s first journeys to the Moon possible.
Hamilton was also widely credited with helping popularise the term “software engineering.” Her work proved that software was as important to spaceflight as hardware.
After Apollo, Hamilton continued her work in computing and founded software companies, including Higher Order Software and Hamilton Technologies.
She published more than 130 papers during her career.
In 2016, former US President Barack Obama awarded Hamilton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour.
Her contributions remain a major part of NASA history and continue to influence software engineering decades after the first Moon landing.
