Mae Carol Jemison is a doctor, engineer, and astronaut. She has the distinction of being the first Black female to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program and the first Black female astronaut to travel into space. As a child and a fan of the television series “Star Trek,” she was particularly inspired by Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura. Jemison always knew she wanted to learn about space and someday, go there herself.
In 1973, at age 16, Jemison graduated from Chicago's Morgan Park High School and entered Stanford University. As one of the only Black students there, Jemison experienced discrimination from her teachers and peers but credits her youthful “arrogance” for helping her persevere in a White male-dominated environment. She graduated at 20 with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in African and African-American studies.
Jemison went on to Cornell University Medical College. While she was there, she studied in Cuba and Kenya and worked at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. She earned her M.D. in 1981, and after a short period of time as a medical practitioner spent the next two and a half years as a medical officer for the Peace Corps in Africa.
Jemison opened a private practice after returning from the Peace Corps and took graduate-level engineering courses. Inspired by Sally Ride, the first female astronaut in space, she followed her dream and applied to the astronaut program at NASA. After a break from accepting new people following the Challenger disaster in 1986, NASA accepted Jemison as one of 15 candidates, from an applicant pool of about 2,000. After more than a year of training, she earned the title of science mission specialist.
From September 12 to 20, 1992, on STS-47, Jemison flew her first and only space mission. She logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space and orbited the earth 127 times. After her historic space flight, she established the Jemison Group, a company that seeks to research, develop, and market advanced technologies. She also helped found an international science camp for teens and is currently leading the 100 Years Starship project, whose mission is to expand space travel beyond our solar system.