Janelle Monae, along with Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson, will star in an upcoming film that tells the story of three African- American women who worked for NASA during the 1960s space race. “Hidden Figures,” as it’s titled, tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who are a crucial part of NASA’s history.

“It is so important, that we as women, African-American women, tell our stories,” Monae said during a panel at the Essence Festival, the AP reports. “These three women opened doors for us and literally helped change the world.”

The movie is is based on Margo Lee Shetterly’s book, “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The screenplay was written by Allison Schroeder.

Monae will play Jackson, with Henson playing Johnson, and Spencer as Vaughn. The three were NASA mathematicians, and Johnson helped calculate John Glenn’s trajectory around the Earth before he became the first American to orbit the planet.

Monae told the audience that she cried when she first got the script. “I cried because I had never heard of Katherine Johnson or Dorothy Vaughan or Mary Jackson. But I know these women and their struggles,” she said. “I am Mary. I am so honored to play her. This film is so important because it shows black people and black women in a different light.”

Monae then brought up the film “Apollo 13” and asked the audience to raise their hands if they saw it. With numerous hands raised, she added, “Did you know these women helped on that project too and were not even mentioned in that movie? These women were pioneers. They won and even more important, America won. And that’s huge,” she said. “Without them we might still be trying to figure out how to get a shuttle into space.”

Monae added “It’s important for children, especially inner-city children to see their future selves in a different light. We’re not all the same. There’s so much depth to us and films like this help to change the stereotypes and make studying STEM cool. It’s absolutely the coolest thing to be able to send someone into space.”

“Hidden Figures” will hit theaters on January 13, 2017.