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Mae Jemison Facts

Mae Jemison Facts
Mae Jemison is a retired American NASA astronaut, engineer, and physician. She was born Mae Carol Jemison on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, to Dorothy Green and Charlie Jemison. Her family moved to Chicago when she was three for better employment and educational opportunities. She studied science as a child and assumed she would go to space someday. She was told that there were no women astronauts when the Apollo aired, but she refused to accept it. Mae graduated from high school in 1973 and entered Stanford when she was only 16. She graduated from Stanford in 1977 with a B.S. in chemical engineering. In 1981 she earned her M.D. from Cornell Medical College.
Interesting Mae Jemison Facts:
Following medical school Mae worked as a general practitioner and traveled to other countries including Cuba, Kenya and Thailand to provide care.
While in school Mae studied dance as well as science and choreographed a musical titled Out of the Shadows.
Mae joined the Peace Corps in 1983 and served as a Peace Corps Medical Officer until 1985 in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In 1983 Mae applied to the astronaut program. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 delayed her involvement in NASA.
In 1987 Mae reapplied to NASA and was chosen as one of 15 out of 2000 applicants.
Mae began working at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was working on the launch of the first mission following the disaster in 1986.
Mae Jemison flew aboard the 50th shuttle mission as a mission specialist from September 12 to 20th, 1992. She was a Mission Specialist aboard STS-47.
During her mission aboard the STS-47 Mae worked on bone cell research, which was one of 43 research investigations.
While in space Mae Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, and 23 seconds in space. It was a co-op mission between the U.S. and Japan. There were 6 other astronauts on that mission.
In 1993 Mae Jemison resigned from NASA.
Mae Jemison served as Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She also worked at Dartmouth College as a professor of Environmental Studies from 1995 to 2002.
Mae Jemison advocates for minority students to develop an interest in science.
In 1993 Mae founded the Jemison Group to research and market science and technology developments for daily living.
Mae founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence in honor of her mother.
Mae Jemison has a fear of heights. Despite this fear she still managed to travel to space.
Between 1990 and 1992 Mae served on the World Sickle Cell Foundation Board of Directors.
Mae Jemison appeared on the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1993. She was the first real-life astronaut to appear on the show.
Mae Jemison wrote a memoir for children titled Find Where the Wind Goes, published in 2001.
Mae Jemison's book series titled True Book Series was published in 2013.
Mae continues to promote science and technology in public appearances.
Mae Jemison has received many awards for her work as well as honorary doctorates.


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