Mae Jemison went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992 and became the first African American woman in space.
She is also a trained medical doctor, served as a Medical Officer in the Peace Corps and currently runs BioSentient Corp, a medical technology company.
Listed below are 10 things women should know about this phenomenal high achiever, Mae Jemison…
1. Mae Carol Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, on October 17, 1956, the youngest of three children of Charlie Jemison and Dorothy Jemison.
Her father was a maintenance supervisor for a charity organization, and her mother worked most of her career as an elementary school teacher of English and math at the Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois.
2. Mae Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut.
She became the first African-American woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
3. Jemison joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 1987 and was selected to serve for the STS-47 mission, during which the Endeavour orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992.
4. Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Jemison graduated from Stanford University with degrees in chemical engineering as well as African and African-American studies. Jemison enjoyed studying nature and human physiology, using her observations to learn more about science.
5. She then earned her medical degree from Cornell University. Jemison was a doctor for the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1983 until 1985 and worked as a general practitioner. In pursuit of becoming an astronaut, she applied to NASA.
6. Jemison left NASA in 1993 and founded a technology research company. She later formed a non-profit educational foundation and through the foundation is the principal of the 100 Year Starship project funded by DARPA.
7. She also wrote several books for children and appeared on television several times, including in a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
8. She holds several honorary doctorates and has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.
9. Jemison is an active public speaker who appears before private and public groups promoting science and technology.
10. In 2017, LEGO released the “Women of NASA” set, with Minifigures of Jemison, Margaret Hamilton, Sally Ride, and Nancy Grace Roman. The Google Doodle on March 8, 2019 (International Women’s Day) featured a quote from Jemison: “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”