Mae C. Jemison
Astronaut / Physician
On 12 September 1992, Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became the first black woman to travel into outer space. Raised in Chicago and educated at Stanford and Cornell, Jemison earned a medical degree and became a physician in 1981. She practiced medicine in Los Angeles and served in the Peace Corps in Africa before being approved for astronaut training in 1987. She spent the next six years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), flying into space on mission STS-47 aboard the shuttle Endeavour in 1992. After leaving NASA in 1993 she founded the Jemison Group, a research and consulting firm, and became active in several educational programs. She also wrote a memoir for young readers, Find Where the Wind Goes (2001).Extra credit: In 1993 Dr. Jemison made a guest appearance on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94, starring LeVar Burton).
Mae Jemison joins Guion Bluford, the first African-American man in space, in our loop on Black History.
Other astronauts include Yuri Gagarin, Sally Ride and Neil Armstrong.
Four Good Links
Dr. Mae Jemison
From NASA's site celebrating their inspirational women
Dr. Mae C. Jemison
Very brief profile from the National Women's History Project
African-American Astronauts
Also from NASA, with bios of Jamison and others
Interview with Mae
Enjoyable 2001 Q&A session from Scholastic.com
Vital Stats
Birth
17 October 1956
(age 52)
Birthplace
Death
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Best Known As
The first African-American woman in space
