Template:Realworld Mae Carol Jemison, MD, (born 17 October 1956; age 67) is an American physician and astronaut. She was the first African-American woman to travel in space, aboard the shuttle Endeavour. She served as the science mission specialist on the STS-47 Spacelab J flight, which launched 12 September 1992. Jemison was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. She is also a Star Trek fan. While in space, Jemison began each shift by informing Mission Control in Houston that "hailing frequencies were open."
In 1993 she appeared as Lieutenant junior grade Palmer in the Star Trek: The Next Generation sixth season episode "Second Chances". Jemison is also a good friend of Nichelle Nichols who visited her on the set while filming "Second Chances." She has the unique distinction of being the first "real" astronaut to ever appear on Star Trek. She was followed by E. Michael Fincke and Terry Virts, who appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise. Jemison also appeared in the television documentaries Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond in 1996 and How William Shatner Changed the World in 2005.
Dr. Jemison is the leader of the 100 Year Starship Initiative, which seeks the launch of an interstellar voyage within the next 100 years. LeVar Burton serves on the group's advisory committee. [1]
Honors and Recognition
In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison received a number of accolades, including several honorary doctorates, the 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award, the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992 and a Montgomery Fellowship from Dartmouth College in 1993. She was also named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990. Additionally, in 1992, an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan, the Mae C. Jemison Academy, was named after her.
Jemison has been a member of several prominent organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served on the board of directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation from 1990 to 1992. She has also served as an advisory committee member of the American Express Geography Competition and an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.
After leaving the astronaut corps in March 1993, Jemison accepted a teaching fellowship at Dartmouth. She also established the Jemison Group, a company that seeks to research, develop and market advanced technologies.
External links
- Mae Jemison biography at NASA Astronaut Biographies
- Mae Jemison at Wikipedia
- Template:IMDb-link