| Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters | |
| Alternative names | Two Independence Square |
| General information | |
| Type | Government offices Commercial offices |
| Location | 300 Hidden Figures Way SW Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°52′59″N77°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 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | |
| Developer | Boston Properties |
| Other information | |
| Public transit access |     Federal Center SW |
| References | |
| [2] | |
TheMary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building at 300 E Street SW inWashington, D.C. houses NASA leadership who provide overall guidance and direction to the US government executive branch agencyNASA, under the leadership of theNASA administrator. NASA Headquarters is organized into four Mission Directorates: Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, Science, and Space Operations. Ten field centers and a variety of installations around the country conduct the day-to-day work of the agency.[3]
The James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium, named for NASA's second administratorJames E. Webb, hosts agency news conferences andNASA Social events. A lending library, the history office, archives, production facilities forNASA TV, and a NASA gift shop are also housed in the building.[4]
The building, which opened in 1992 asTwo Independence Square as part of the two-building Independence Square complex which was designed byKohn Pedersen Fox,[5] is currently owned by South Korean investment firmHana Asset Management and leased to NASA through 2028.[1]
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On June 12, 2019, the street in front of the building was given the honorary name of Hidden Figures Way in honor of some of NASA's black women mathematicians,Katherine Johnson,Dorothy Vaughan, andMary W. Jackson, who were the central characters in the 2016 bookHidden Figures and its 2016film adaptation.[6] On June 24, 2020, NASA AdministratorJim Bridenstine announced that the agency's headquarters building in Washington, D.C. had been renamed to Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters, after NASA's first black woman engineer.[7] On February 26, 2021, a ceremony was held officially renaming the building.[8]
In 2023, NASA opened an exhibit in the lobby, marking the first time it welcomed the public into the building. The Earth Information Center exhibit shows how the agency views Earth from space, tracking patterns in air temperature and quality, climate, water levels, and ecosystems and how that can help humans understand and fight climate change.[9] The entrance to the exhibit also features a largeNASA worm sculpture, which was dedicated in honor of its designers,Bruce Blackburn andRichard Danne, as well as NASA's former art director Robert Schulman.[10]
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