With the success of the film Hidden Figures, which told the story of the black woman who worked for NASA and helped put Americans in space,  I felt it was only right to honor and celebrate the first black female astronaut to orbit space. I remember seeing pictures of astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison when I was a kid and thinking she was very cool.

Black History Fact #5

Dr. Mae Jemison (born 1956) is an American engineer, physician, teacher, businesswoman, and NASA astronaut. Dr. Jemison was selected for the astronaut program in June 1987. She was the first black woman admitted to the astronaut training program. On September 12, 1992, Dr. Jemison became the first black woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. She was the science mission specialist on the STS-47 mission, which was an 8-day cooperative mission between the US and Japan conducting science and medical experiments. During her time in space, Dr. Jemison conducted experiments on motion sickness and weightlessness on herself and the crew. In 1993, she left NASA and established the Jemison Group, a company which seeks to encourage a love of science in students and to research, market, and develop advanced technologies around the world. Currently, Dr. Mae Jemison leads the 100 Year Starship, a government-funded project to plan the next 100 years of interstellar travel.

Thank Dr. Mae Jemison for our first black shooting star and expanding our horizons!