Nancy Grace Roman, shown here at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1972, was the first female executive and the first chief of astronomy at NASA. Credit: NASA Nicknamed the “Mother of Hubble,” Nancy Grace Roman spent years pushing for the use of the newest technology to better understand the universe. Roman was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 16, 1925. She was always interested in looking up at the stars and spearheaded an astronomy club at 11 years old.