Mae Jemison

By: Charlotte B.

Born: October 17, 1956

Places lived: Alabama, Chicago, Sierra Leone

MAIN IDEA

She was the first African American woman to travel to space. She was also an engineer and doctor. When she was in college she studied chemical engineering and then got an MD in 1981 from Cornell Medical college. She took an 8 day flight to space on The Endeavor. She did experiments in space like fertilized frog eggs in space. She studied how people and animals go into space, their muscles and bone tissue aren’t as strong as they are on earth. After retiring from NASA, she founded the Jemison Group inc. that helped people in Africa who are sick and gives doctor’s better equipment and making technology better.

When Mae went to space she took some things with her that she wanted other people to recognize: a picture of Judeith Jemison performing the dance cry, next she took up a Bundu statue from West Africa, and she took up the AKA flag for Alpha Kappa Alpha the oldest African American sorority.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Mae Jemison was born in 1956. Mae grew up in the south side of Chicago in the 1960s. Mae was interested in the stars at a young age. Her mom and dad helped her when her teacher told her that she had to be a nurse instead of an astronaut. On the way home she cried and cried. Her mom told her that she doesn't have to be a nurse. Mae had confidence to do anything. Mae watched Star Trek and saw Lieutenant Uhura who was black. That inspired young Mae because she saw someone like her go to space.

Mae was interested in the human body because she wanted to see how everything moved automatically, like when you let your brain thinks it and then you just do it automatically. When she was younger she was interested in science and medicine.

She became a doctor and then went to the Peace Corps in two countries in Africa. And then she became the person who was in charge of the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone.

FUN FACTS!!!!!!!

Mae speaks fluent Russian, Japanese, and Swahili.

She went to Stanford at 16!!!!!!!!

She started a space camp for other young black women who wanted to go to space.

CHARACTER TRAITS

She is brave because she went to space, because you could crash and DIE,and do something wrong.

She is adventurous because she did something that NO BLACK WOMEN, and she didn't even think about it.

She is determined because she said she didn't care if 1,000 people went to space she wanted to go.

RELEVANCE INTO TODAY:

She was the first black Woman to go to space, and she wanted to inspire other women to go to space because anyone can go to space no matter what they look like.

QUESTIONS FOR MAE JEMISON:

If you didn't go to space would you start the Jemison Foundation?