Honoring Secret Heroes: Ceremony Gives Top Award to Women Who Helped in the Space Race.

The U.S. Congress gave a special award to some important women. These women worked for the space program but were not well-known.

The award is called the Congressional Gold Medal, and it was given to the families of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden. The ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., and Ms. Darden watched from her home.

The award was also given to all the women who worked as mathematicians, engineers, and “human computers” for the space program. These women worked from the 1930s to the 1970s and helped America succeed in space.

Many of these women were Black and worked in a special group at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. They were very good at math and helped with many important space missions.

For example, Katherine Johnson's calculations helped John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth. These women made important contributions to the space program and are now finally being recognized for their work.