I’ve known of Nichelle Nichols work with NASA for about a decade. However, her recruitment work with them spans more than a generation. For one person to dedicate their life’s work to not only perform as a futuristic space-woman but to inspire some to reach for the stars as real astronauts. Nichelle herself put on a flight suit and participated in a real nasa training and a mission! She’s deserving of our nation highest award for a civilian who used her roll to motivate and move the imaginative to careers in the space program. 
The film Woman in Motion chronicles Nichelle’s small step for an entertainer and her giant leap for space travelers. She helped lead the increase of recruitment, also recruiting more women and people of color into the space program like never before. Nichols took an opportunity and spread it out amongst the dreamers who dared to test their limits of intelligence and bravery. 
A medal to honor her would be one from a thankful fandom and a thankful nation. She used her position to increase a people’s  fervor for space, to calculate the risk, to be strapped onto a rocket, and to go boldly. We remember the first to go up or take a step but let’s also remember and honor the woman who help select those brave souls.