Congress Honors NASA’s “Hidden Figures” with Long-Awaited Medals

On September 18, a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center honored trailblazing NASA mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—known as the “Hidden Figures”—for their pivotal contributions to U.S. space missions. Their groundbreaking work, including Johnson’s critical calculations for the Apollo 11 moon landing, was celebrated alongside the late Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who championed the legislation that recognized their achievements. The bill, signed into law in 2019, highlighted bipartisan support and brought national attention to the Hidden Figures through Margot Lee Shetterly’s book and its film adaptation.