Mae Carol Jemison, MD, (born 17 October 1956; age 55) 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."

She appeared in TNG: "Second Chances" as Lieutenant Palmer, and is good friends with Nichelle Nichols, who played the first black female space traveler on television, Lieutenant Uhura.

Dr. Jemison 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.

External links Edit

• Mae Jemison biography at NASA Astronaut Biographies
• Mae Jemison at Wikipedia