The First African-American

Woman in Space

On a warm humid summer night, a little girl lay in the cold, damp grass, gazing at the stars. Other children's voices sounded around her. They were shouting to each other about how many fireflies they had caught. Looking at the stars made her want to be up among them. She wondered what it would be like to be out there, in the stars. They looked like shining, transparent diamonds, twinkling at her, beckoning for her to come to them.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The music of the ice cream truck shattered her dreams. She jumped up, eager to get some ice cream on that warm, heavy night.

On September 12, 1992, Mae Jemison's dream became reality when she took her first flight into outer space. As a mission specialist she was a member of the Endeavor space shuttle crew. Her life-long goal became reality because she was never easily discouraged from following her dream. For example, her kindergarten teacher asked her what she wanted to be. Mae replied, "A scientist!" The teacher said, "Don't you mean a nurse?" But Mae never gave up.

Mae was born in Decatur, Alabama, in 1956, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was a very active student. She loved dance, theater, and student politics. Mae also took several different languages such as Russian, Japanese, and Swahili. She was an exceptional student in all subjects. She also had a great sense of humor.

One of her favorite jokes was about a cowboy. It goes like this. There was a cowboy who was on the East Coast and he needed to get to the West Coast in as short a time as possible. So, he went all around town looking for a very fast horse. Finally he came to a farmer who had a fast horse at a good price. The cowboy asked if he could buy it. The farmer said that he could, but there were some very special instructions that went with the hose. The cowboy got out his money and asked for the instructions. The farmer told him that the horse would only go if he said "Praise the Lord" and would only stop if he said "Amen". The cowboy got on the horse and said, "Giddyup, giddyup!" The horse wouldn't go. Finally he remembered and said, "Praise the Lord". The horse started going so fast that no race car could beat it.

The horse raced over the Appalachian Mountains, across the Mississippi River, past Mount Rushmore, through the Grand Canyon, across the Great Salt Lake, And through Death Valley. Finally the horse raced at full speed towards the steep cliffs that hung over the Pacific Ocean. The cowboy shouted, "Whoa, whoa!" but the horse wouldn't stop. The cowboy was getting really worried when at last he remembered what to say. He shouted "Amen" just in the nick of time, for they were a dime's length from the edge of the cliff. The cowboy was so happy that they had come all the way across the United States in only two hours that he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Praise the Lord!"

Mae was especially attracted to science-fiction on TV and in the movies. She liked "Star Trek" and "Lost in Space." Her early interest in science led her to study engineering and medical research. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 1977. She then earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Cornell University in 1981. Her many interests also led her to wonder about the history of African-Americans. At another university she earned an Associate degree in African-American Studies.

Mae joined NASA in 1987. She enjoyed her training to prepare to be an astronaut some day on a space mission. Five years later, in 1992, her chance to go on a space mission finally came. Mae went into space with six other crew members. Their seven-day flight was called the Spacelab J Mission. The point of the mission was to see if certain materials could be produced in weightlessness. Other experiments included animals.

As soon as the Spacelab went into orbit, moving faster than any cowboy on his horse ever could, Mae peered out a window. She caught her breath in amazement. The Earth was in all its magnificent splendor. A silvery gauze veil swirled over the planet like a halo of light. She could just barely see the soft outline of the jade continents. Beyond the Earth and over and above and below, the stars surrounded her like friends, for she had come to them at last.

What Mae Jemison says:

"Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world, it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live."

©1994 Rachel Marie Picone