You’ve probably heard her name in a trivia game or seen her face on a Black History Month poster. But if you really dig into the story of who is the first african american female astronaut, you realize it’s not just a "first" for the record books. It is a story about a woman who basically refused to accept the word "no" as a valid answer.
Mae Jemison didn’t just wake up one day and find herself on a space shuttle. It took a wild mix of chemical engineering, dance, medicine, and a very persistent love for Star Trek. Honestly, the fact that she even got to the launchpad is a miracle of stubbornness.
The Kid from Chicago Who Wouldn't Back Down
Mae was born in Alabama in 1956, but her family moved to Chicago when she was tiny. Her parents wanted better schools and better opportunities. It worked. By the time she was in kindergarten, she told her teacher she wanted to be a scientist. The teacher, being a product of the times, corrected her: "Don't you mean a nurse?"
Mae put her hands on her hips and said, "No, I mean a scientist."
That’s the vibe she carried through her whole life. She was a kid who looked at the Apollo missions and was genuinely annoyed. Why? Because there were no women. She didn't see it as a sign that she couldn't go; she saw it as a problem that needed fixing. She was reading everything from evolution to astronomy. She was also a dancer. Like, a serious one. Modern, African, ballet—you name it.
Stanford at Sixteen
Imagine being sixteen and heading off to Stanford University. Most of us were just trying to figure out how to pass driver's ed. Mae was majoring in Chemical Engineering and African American Studies. It wasn't easy. She’s talked openly about how some professors would just ignore her or act like she wasn't in the room because she was a Black woman in a STEM field.
📖 Related: Installing a Push Button Start Kit: What You Need to Know Before Tearing Your Dash Apart
She didn't let it break her. Instead, she became the president of the Black Student Union and choreographed dance productions. She was constantly balancing the rigid logic of engineering with the fluid creativity of dance. To her, they weren't different worlds. They were just different ways of looking at the same universe.
From the Peace Corps to the Stars
After Stanford, she went to Cornell for medical school. While she was there, she traveled to Kenya, Cuba, and worked in a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. She wasn't just a student; she was a global citizen before that was a trendy buzzword.
By 1983, she was a doctor working in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and Liberia. She was managing the health care for Peace Corps volunteers and embassy staff. She was also doing research on vaccines for Hepatitis B and rabies. She was busy. She was successful.
But then she saw Sally Ride go into space.
That was the spark. Mae decided it was finally time to apply to NASA. She actually had to apply twice. The first time, the Challenger disaster in 1986 put everything on hold. But in 1987, she was one of 15 people chosen out of over 2,000 applicants.
👉 See also: Maya How to Mirror: What Most People Get Wrong
What Really Happened on STS-47
On September 12, 1992, Mae Jemison finally made history. She blasted off on the Space Shuttle Endeavour for mission STS-47.
She wasn't just a passenger. She was a Science Mission Specialist. Basically, she was the lab lead. During the eight days in orbit, she conducted experiments on things that sound like science fiction:
- Frog fertilization: How do life forms develop without gravity?
- Bone loss: Why do astronauts lose bone density in space?
- Motion sickness: Using biofeedback to figure out why space makes people barf.
She brought things into space that meant something to her. A poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. A West African Bundu statue. An Alpha Kappa Alpha banner. She wanted to bring her whole self—her culture, her history, and her passions—into orbit with her.
She also famously started her shifts by radioing "Hailing frequencies open." If you're a Trekkie, you know that's Lt. Uhura's catchphrase. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, was actually the one who inspired Mae to join NASA in the first place. Later, Mae became the first real astronaut to actually appear on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Misconception About "The First"
When people ask who is the first african american female astronaut, they often think the story ends when she lands. It didn't. Mae left NASA in 1993, which surprised a lot of people. Why leave the "dream job"?
✨ Don't miss: Why the iPhone 7 Red iPhone 7 Special Edition Still Hits Different Today
Because she had more to do.
She started The Jemison Group to look at how technology can help developing countries. She founded a science camp for kids called "The Earth We Share." She’s currently leading the 100 Year Starship project. It’s a DARPA-funded initiative focused on making human travel to another star system possible within the next century.
She’s not just looking at the past. She’s literally looking at the next hundred years of human survival.
Why We Still Talk About Her
Mae Jemison didn't just break a glass ceiling; she built a whole new house. She proved that you don't have to choose between being an artist and a scientist. She showed that your background isn't a barrier—it’s a perspective that the world (and the universe) actually needs.
If you're looking for actionable inspiration from Mae's life, here is what you can actually do:
- Refuse the "Nurse" Correction: When someone tries to "guide" you into a smaller version of your dream, stand your ground.
- Diversify Your Skills: Don't just be an engineer. Be a dancer, a linguist (Mae speaks Russian, Japanese, and Swahili), and a leader.
- Look Up: She often asks people, "When was the last time you looked up?" It’s a reminder to stay connected to something bigger than your daily grind.
- Support STEM Diversity: The mission isn't over. There are still huge gaps in who gets to go to space and who gets to lead in tech.
The story of the first Black woman in space isn't a closed chapter. It’s an ongoing experiment in what happens when we stop telling people what they can't be.
Next Steps for You: Research the 100 Year Starship project to see how space tech is being used to solve climate and energy problems on Earth right now. You can also look into the Dorothy Jemison Foundation if you're interested in supporting science literacy for the next generation of explorers.