Mae C. Jemison

Dr. Mae C. Jemison worked as a General Practitioner in Los Angeles, California, before becoming a Peace Corps Medical Officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa. After returning to the United States, Dr. Jemison applied and was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1987 and became the first African American woman in space.

Quick Facts

Assigned to STS-47, Jemison carried out experiments on the effects of space motion sickness, frog fertilization in space, and bone loss during spaceflight.

Jemison has a background in both engineering and medical research. As a science mission specialist on STS-47, she was a co-investigator on the bone cell research experiment flown on the mission.

Dr. Jemison received her BA in chemical engineering and African American studies from Stanford University, and her doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University.

STS-47 Mission Specialist Mae C. Jemison floating in the Science Module aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. (September 1992)
NASA

STS-47 crew members pose for the traditional inflight portrait in the Science Module. (September 1992)
NASA

Jan Davis and Mae C. Jemison hold hands as they free float aboard the KC-135 “Vomit Comit” during a zero-gravity familiarization flight. — Astronaut candidates Jan Davis (left) and Mae Jemison, selected in 1987, hold hands as they free float aboard the KC-135 “Vomit Comit” during a zero-gravity familiarization flight. (1987)
NASA

STS-47 Mission Specialists Jan Davis and Mae Jemison prepare to deploy the Lower Body Negative Pressure apparatus in the Science Module. — STS-47 Mission Specialists Jan Davis (left) and Mae Jemison prepare to deploy the Lower Body Negative Pressure apparatus in the Science Module aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. (September 1992)
NASA

Biography

Mae C. Jemison

Jemison graduated high school at the age of 16 with a four-year National Achievement Scholarship. At Stanford University, she earned a BS in chemical engineering and a BA in African and Afro-American studies. After graduation, Jemison moved to New York to attend Cornell University Medical College and completed her doctorate degree in medicine in 1981.

Learn More

STS-47 Astronaut Mae C. Jemison mission participates in a training exercise at the Johnson Space Center.

NASA

All Crewed Missions

STS-47

Spacelab-J — a joint NASA and National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) mission utilizing a manned Spacelab module — conducted microgravity investigations in materials and life sciences.

Learn More

Sep 20, 1992 10:23 UTC