Mae C. Jemison, the first African American woman to become an astronaut!

Massima Somji (G6)

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Published Issue 6 2021-2022

She became convinced that she wanted to pursue a profession in biomedical engineering throughout her time at Morgan Park High School. She received a National Achievement Scholarship to attend Stanford University after graduating with honors in 1973.

Jemison was heavily involved in extracurricular activities at Stanford, including dance and theatrical productions, and served as the president of the Black Student Union, just as she had been in high school. In 1977, she graduated from the institution with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. She went on to Cornell University Medical College after graduating, and during her time there, she took time to study in Cuba and Kenya, as well as volunteer in a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand.

Her career as a medical doctor

Upon completing her M.D. in 1981 and worked as a general practitioner after interning at the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center. She was the local Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia for the following two and a half years, where she also taught and conducted medical research.

Following her return to the United States in 1985, Jemison changed careers and chose to pursue a long-held ambition: she filed for admission to NASA's astronaut training programme in October. The Challenger accident in January 1986 delayed the selection process, but Jemison was one of 15 candidates picked from a pool of around 2,000 when she returned a year later.

The First African-American Woman to become an astronaut

Jemison was the first African-American woman to be accepted into NASA's astronaut training programme on June 4, 1987. She became the first African American woman astronaut after more than a year of training, gaining the designation of science mission specialist, which would entail conducting crew-related scientific research on the space shuttle.

Jemison became the first African American woman in orbit when she traveled into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47 on September 12, 1992.

During her eight days in space, Jemison conducted research on weightlessness and motion sickness on the crew and herself. Before returning to Earth on September 20, 1992, she had spent more than 190 hours in space. Following her historic flight, Jemison stated that society should recognise the significant contributions that both women and members of other minority groups can make if given the chance.

Honors

In acknowledgment of her contributions, Jemison won a variety of honors, including many 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. In 1990, she was also selected Woman of the Year by Gamma Sigma Gamma. Mae C. Jemison Academy, an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan, was founded in 1992 and is named after her.

Jemison is a member of a number of prestigious organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and she sat on the World Sickle Cell Foundation's board of directors from 1990 to 1992. She has also served on the American Express Geography Competition's advisory council and as an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.

Jemison’s career after retiring from NASA

Jemison obtained a teaching appointment at Dartmouth after departing the astronaut corps in March 1993. She also founded the Jemison Group, which focuses on advanced technology research, development, and marketing.