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1956-present
Who Is Mae Jemison?
Dr. Mae Jemison is a physician and scientist who, in 1992, became the first Black woman astronaut in space. After attending Stanford and Cornell Universities, she served as a medical officer in the Peace Corps. In June 1987, she achieved a lifelong dream when she became the first Black woman to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program. Jemison made history again on September 12, 1992, when she flew into space aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47 and became the first Black woman in space. In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison has received several awards and honorary doctorates. Today, she works as a scientist and public speaker.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Mae Carol Jemison
BORN: October 17, 1956
BIRTHPLACE: Decatur, Alabama
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra
Early Life and Education
Mae Carol Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama. She is the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter, and Dorothy Jemison (nee Green), an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison, is a real estate broker.
When Mae was 3 years old, the Jemison family moved to Chicago to take advantage of better educational opportunities. Her parents were supportive and encouraging of Mae’s talents and abilities throughout her early school years. She spent a considerable amount of time in her school library reading about all aspects of science, especially astronomy.
Jemison became convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering during her time at Morgan Park High School. Mae graduated in 1973 as a consistent honor student then entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship.
As she had been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extracurricular activities at Stanford, including dance and theater productions, and served as head of the Black Student Union. She received a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the university in 1977.
Jemison continued her education at Cornell University Medical College. During her years there, she found time to expand her horizons by studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. She became a doctor of medicine in 1981.
Career as a Medical Doctor
After obtaining her medical degree, Jemison interned at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center then worked as a general practitioner. Beginning in January 1983, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia. She served in the position for two and a half years while also teaching and conducting medical research on projects related to rabies; schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease; and a Hepatitis B vaccine.
First Black Female Astronaut
Following her return to the United States in 1985, Jemison made a career change and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for a long time. That October, she applied for NASA’s astronaut training program. The Challenger disaster of January 1986 delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later, Jemison was one of the 15 candidates chosen from a field of about 2,000.
Astronaut candidate Mae C. Jemison in 1987
On June 4, 1987, Jemison became the first Black woman to be admitted into the NASA astronaut training program. After more than a year of training, she became the first Black female astronaut, earning the title of science mission specialist. The job made her responsible for conducting crew-related scientific experiments on the space shuttle.
When Jemison finally flew into space on September 12, 1992, with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47, she became the first Black woman in space.
Mae Jemison and her fellow crew members on mission STS47 pose inside the Endeavour space shuttle
During her eight days in space, Jemison conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness on the crew and herself. In all, she spent more than 190 hours in space before returning to Earth on September 20, 1992.
Following her historic flight, Jemison noted that society should recognize how much both women and members of other minority groups can contribute if given the opportunity. She left the astronaut corps in March 1993.
Honors
In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison has received a number of accolades. This includes several honorary doctorates, the 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award, the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992, and a Montgomery Fellowship from Dartmouth College in 1993. She was also named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990. In 1992, the Mae C. Jemison Academy, an alternative public school in Detroit, was named after her.
Jemison has been a member of several prominent organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. From 1990 to 1992, she served on the board of directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation. Jemison has been an advisory committee member of the American Express Geography Competition and an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.
For all of her contributions, Jemison was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993. She is also a member of the National Medical Association Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.
LEGO builders can also find Jemison in toy brand’s 2017 Women of NASA set, featuring Jemison, astronaut Sally Ride, former NASA Chief of Astronomy Nancy Grace Roman, and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton in miniature form.
Career Since NASA
Since her NASA days, Mae Jemison has become a public speaker in addition to her work as a scientist.
After leaving NASA in early 1993, Jemison accepted a teaching fellowship at Dartmouth. She also established the Jemison Group—a company that seeks to research, develop, and market advanced technologies—as well as The Earth We Share, an international space camp for children ages 12 through 16. In 1999, Jemison founded BioSentient Corporation, a medical technology services and devices company focused on improving health and human performance.
She is also in charge of the 100 Year Starship project through the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The project is studying and developing the viability of human space travel to another star over the next century.
With her background in various scientific fields, Jemison is a frequent public speaker who encourages STEM involvement and improvements in education for women and minorities. She is also a published author.
In 2001, Jemison released a memoir titled Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life, about her early life and education, time with the Peace Corps, and training as an astronaut. She has said she wrote the book specifically for teenagers, encouraging them to “learn from the lessons that you have in life. Because all of us have adventures, and they’re large and they’re small, and we have to learn from them and figure out what they meant.”
Jemison has also authored multiple books in the educational series A True Book from Scholastic, including Exploring Our Sun, Discovering New Planets, and The 100 Year Starship.
Actor Nichelle Nicholas who appeared on Star Trek inspired Mae Jemison to become an astronaut.The women are seen here in April 2018.
Jemison hasn’t limited herself to print media. In 1993, shortly after her mission on the Endeavour, she appeared as Lieutenant Palmer on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in another first. It was the first time a real astronaut was on the show. For Jemison, the opportunity was a full-circle moment. She cites actor Nichelle Nichols’ portrayal of Lieutenant Uhura on the original Star Trek series for inspiring her to become an astronaut.
She also served as a consultant for the National Geographic drama series Mars, about a group of astronauts attempting to colonize the planet, and the 2022 Disney and Pixar animated film Lightyear featuring Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear.
Personal Life and Facts
Jemison has never married and isn’t known to have any children.
In a 1992 New York Times interview, Jemison discussed her interest in modern jazz and African dance. She had choreographed and produced several shows by the time of her flight on the Endeavour. Jemison has also cited sewing, skiing, reading, and photography among her hobbies. Showcasing her love of languages, she is fluent in Russian, Japanese, and Swahili.
Quotes
- I was in training from when I was born until I became an astronaut, because as an astronaut you use all the skills you learn in life.
- It would be nice—and I think it will be nice—to have more and more people of all kinds involved with space exploration.
- I’d love to go into space again if there were a mission to Mars. I’d also love to go to a completely different planetary system out of our solar system.
- The biggest challenge we all face is to learn about ourselves and to understand our strengths and weaknesses.
- You have as much right as anyone else to be in this world and to be in any profession you want… You don’t have to wait for permission.
- I realized I would feel comfortable anywhere in the universe because I belonged to and was a part of it, as much as any star, planet, asteroid, comet, or nebula.
- One of the amazing things in terms of African Americans is that we’ve always been involved in the sciences.
- Science literacy is not about being able to solve all the equations or being able to come up with Einstein’s theory of relativity; it’s about figuring out how science impacts your world every day.
- I knew in kindergarten that I wanted to be a scientist. I also wanted to be a dancer, an architect, and a fashion designer.
- Life is full of adventures. Some of them will be more demanding than others, but they all teach us about the world and ourselves along the way.
- Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.
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Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University, an avid sports fan, a frequent moviegoer, and trivia buff.
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