Mae Carol Jemison- The First African American Woman in Space
Mae Jemison in Space Lab Japan, October 22, 1992. NARA images 22725970, 22972, 22725976, and 22722764
We mark the end of African American History month and the start of Women’s History month with a post by Dena Lombardo, intern in the Office of Public and Media Communications.
Mae Carol Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. On June 4, 1987, she became the first African American woman accepted into NASA’s space training program. Five years later, on September 12, 1992, she became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Jemison spent over 190 hours in space and returned on September 20, 1992.
Before changing careers and making history at NASA, Jemison served as a Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia.
After retiring from NASA in 1993, she took a teaching fellowship at Dartmouth College. She then established The Jemison Group that integrates critical socio-cultural issues into the design of engineering and science projects. She is dedicated to promoting science and technology, and inspiring young people, especially minorities. To encourage wider participation in STEM, in 1994, Jemison founded The Earth We Share™( TEWS ), the international science camp for students 12-16 years old.
She remains a professor-at-large at Cornell, and regularly speaks on global development issues. Jemison is author of a number of books including “Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from my life” titles under the Scholastic True Books series on space exploration. She was also the first real astronaut to appear on Star Trek, appearing as Lieutenant Palmer in 1993.
