NASA Headquarters

Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters
Interactive map of Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters
Alternative names	Two Independence Square
General information
Type	Government offices Commercial offices
Location	300 E Street SW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°52′59″N 77°00′59″W / 38.8830°N 77.0163°W / 38.8830; -77.0163
Named for	Mary W. Jackson
Completed	1992
Owner	Hana Asset Management[1]
Technical details
Floor count	9
Floor area	606,000 sq ft (56,300 m^2)
Design and construction
Architects	Evans Heintges Architects Kohn Pedersen Fox
Developer	Boston Properties
Other information
Public transit access	Federal Center SW
References
[2]

The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters is a building at 300 E Street SW in Washington, D.C. that houses NASA leadership, who provide overall guidance and direction to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a U.S. government executive branch agency led by the NASA administrator. Ten field centers and a variety of installations around the country conduct the agency's day-to-day work.^[3]

The James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium, named for NASA's second administrator, James E. Webb, hosts agency news conferences and NASA Social events. A lending library, the history office, archives, production facilities for NASA TV, and a NASA gift shop are also located in the building.^[4]

The building opened in 1992 as Two Independence Square as part of the two-building Independence Square complex, which was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.^[5] It is owned by South Korean investment firm Hana Asset Management and leased to NASA through 2028.^[1]

The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters sign and the NASA worm insignia

On June 12, 2019, the street in front of the building was given the honorary name Hidden Figures Way in honor of some of NASA's Black women mathematicians—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary W. Jackson—who were central figures in the 2016 book Hidden Figures and its film adaptation.^[6] On June 24, 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the headquarters building had been renamed the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters, after NASA's first Black woman engineer.^[7] A ceremony officially renaming the building was held on February 26, 2021.^[8]

In 2023, NASA opened an exhibit in the lobby, marking the first time the agency welcomed the public into the building. The Earth Information Center exhibit shows how NASA views Earth from space, tracking patterns in air temperature and quality, climate, water levels, and ecosystems, and how these data can help humans understand and address climate change.^[9] The entrance to the exhibit also features a large NASA worm sculpture, dedicated in honor of its designers, Bruce Blackburn and Richard Danne, as well as NASA's former art director Robert Schulman.^[10]

Gallery

• 
  Main entrance
• 
  Hidden Figures Way honorary street sign
• 
  NASA history archives
• 
  Earth Information Center exhibit
• 
  Earth Information Center exhibit

References

1. Kalinoski, Gail (July 17, 2017). "S. Korean Investment Firm Buys NASA HQ in DC". Commercial Property Executive. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
2. "Emporis building ID 119599". Emporis. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020.
3. Mochinski, Ron (September 26, 2023). "About NASA HQ". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
4. Mather, John C.; Boslough, John (2008). The Very First Light: The True Inside Story of the Scientific Journey Back to the Dawn of the Universe (Revised and updated ed.). New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-00529-1.
5. "George M. How, 35, an Architect, Is Dead". The New York Times. February 25, 1993. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
6. "Sign of Progress: Street Renaming Puts NASA Headquarters on Hidden Figures Way". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. June 12, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
7. Potter, Sean (June 24, 2020). "NASA Names Headquarters After 'Hidden Figure' Mary W. Jackson". National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Press release). Retrieved November 18, 2024.
8. Potter, Sean (February 24, 2021). "NASA to Honor 'Hidden Figure' Mary W. Jackson During Naming Ceremony". National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Press release). Retrieved November 18, 2024.
9. Solano, Sophia (June 26, 2023). "Earth Information Center Opens at NASA's D.C. Headquarters". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
10. "NASA Dedicates Giant 'Worm,' Honors Logo Designer Richard Danne". collectSPACE.com. November 6, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2024.

External links

• Google Street View of building
• NASA's Mission Archived April 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• NASA headquarters library Archived January 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
• NASA History Program Office