Margaret Hamilton obituary: computer scientist who pioneered software engineering and helped us get to the Moon

Link from Nature, 15 October 2026.She was especially known for designing the Apollo Guidance Computer to be as reliable as possible — even in the event of human error. A key inspiration came from her daughter, who sometimes accompanied her to the office after hours. One day, when young Lauren pushed a button that crashed a simulator, Hamilton realized the system needed a protocol in case an astronaut did the same thing. Sure enough, during Apollo 8, astronaut Jim Lovell made the very mistake that Hamilton’s daughter had, and she and her team were able to resolve the situation in short order. 🔗 https://richard.dallaway.com/margaret-hamilton-obituary-computer-scientist-who-pioneered-software-engineering-and-helped-us-get-t