Barbara Askins was named the National Inventor of the Year by the Association for Advancement of Inventions and Innovations. This was a major recognition of her pioneering work in enhancing underexposed photographic negatives, especially given its importance to NASA and the medical industry. She was the first individual woman to receive this honor.

Barbara Askins joined NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. This marked a significant turn in her career, leading to her groundbreaking invention for enhancing underexposed photographic negatives.

This is the date of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a pivotal moment for NASA. While not directly mentioned in the text, the images captured during space missions like Apollo 11 would have benefited from Askins's image enhancement technology, which would later be developed. It provides context to the type of underexposed images NASA might have needed to enhance.

Barbara Askins was born in Belfast, Tennessee, United States. This marks the beginning of the life of a notable American chemist and inventor known for her contributions to enhancing underexposed photographic negatives, which had significant applications in NASA and the medical field.