Portraits of NASA mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson in bas relief on the Friendship 7 capsule. The story of these African-American women’s pivotal role in the first orbit of the Earth by an American is told in the book and movie Hidden Figures.

The model is easily recognizable as a space capsule but only when it is lit from inside do these ‘hidden figures’ fully reveal themselves. This model symbolizes the invisible but vital contribution African-American women made to the early space program. There are three version of this model. v1 One piece model of Friendship 7 with portraits in bas relief on exterior. v2 Two piece model of Friendship 7 with portraits in bas relief on exterior. v3 Two piece model of Friendship 7 with portraits engraved from interior.  v2 provides best visibility of images but v3 best fits the Hidden Figures theme.

The appearance of the portraits with backlight (lithophane) depends on a variety of factors including scale factor, slicing settings, filament opacity and light source. Experimentation and test prints are required. These models are suitable for remixing for a variety of projects. Example photos are from model scaled at 60% for use as a nightlight.

Visit my blog http://DesignMakeTeach.com for more great designs and articles about 3D printing and making in the classroom. Or contact me on Twitter @DesignMakeTeach

Invaluable technical assistance was provided by @HoneyPoint3D https://www.honeypoint3d.com/ and @CentralScience http://www.thingiverse.com/contentbydesign/about

This model would not have been possible without the conversion of the NASA Friendship 7 3D model to STL by my good friend @Zheng3_Jim http://zheng3.com/

Sources: Friendship 7 Model https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/friendship-c2 Dorothy Vaughan Portrait: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/youngdorothyvaughan.jpeg?itok=sSWS3yi_ Mary Jackson Portrait: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lrc-1977-b701_p-04106_0.jpg Katherine Johnson: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/johnsonk.jpg

Reference: https://www.nasa.gov/modernfigures and https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mercury/missions/friendship7.html