Inspired
Meet Dr Mae Jemison, the First Black Woman to Travel Into Space
In September 1992, Dr Mae Jemison made history aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour as the first Black woman to travel into space. From studying at Stanford at sixteen and serving in the Peace Corps to appearing on Star Trek, her life spans science, medicine, and the arts.
Do you know those people who seem to fit three different lifetimes into one? Dr Mae Jemison is definitely one of them. Long before she made history on 12 September 1992 as the first Black woman to travel into space, she was already building a life that completely defied expectations. When she boarded Space Shuttle Endeavour in September 1992 for mission STS-47, it was just the latest chapter in an extraordinary journey.
By sixteen, she was at Stanford University studying chemical engineering and African studies. She went on to earn her medical degree from Cornell University, soon taking her skills to West Africa to manage healthcare for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Science was only part of the story, though. Jemison was also a trained dancer who drew deep inspiration from the arts and television—especially Star Trek. Watching Niche...