Her story and history may have been brought to prominence through the film Hidden Figures starring Janelle Monáe but aerospace engineer and mathematician Mary W. Jackson is a “hidden figure” no more. In a moving ceremony, NASA officials recently renamed their D.C. headquarters in Jackson’s honor.
The newly named Mary W. Jackson NASA headquarters honors the work and legacy of Jackson, who was the agency’s first Black woman engineer.
“Jackson’s story is one of incredible determination. She personified NASA’s spirit of persevering against all odds, providing inspiration and advancing science and exploration,” said NASA acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk in the largely virtual ceremony. “There is no denying that she faced innumerable challenges in her work, work that would eventually help send the first Americans to space.”
