Askins began her career at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Initially, she worked as a mathematician and chemist on various projects related to space exploration. This early experience exposed her to the challenges of imaging in space.

Askins invented a method to enhance underexposed photographic negatives, particularly those taken in space. This technique revolutionized the way astronomers and scientists could analyze faint images, revealing previously unseen details.

Askins was granted U.S. Patent 4,101,780 for her radiographic image enhancement technique. This patent solidified her contribution to the field and provided a basis for further development and application of her invention.

Askins continued her work at NASA, focusing on refining and applying her image enhancement techniques to various scientific problems. Her work had a significant impact on medical imaging, leading to improvements in X-ray technology.