Mae Jemison was a girl with big dreams and an even bigger imagination. She was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama. When she was just three years old, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. Mae’s father was a carpenter and her mother was an elementary school teacher. They both encouraged Mae to be curious about the world around her. Mae spent a lot of time at the local library, reading books about everything from animals to the stars. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a scientist.

In school, Mae was an excellent student who loved science and art. She was so smart that she graduated from high school when she was only 16 years old. After high school, she went to Stanford University. At Stanford, she studied chemical engineering and African American studies. While she was learning about science, she also found time for her other passion: dancing. Mae took many dance classes and even directed several musical and dance shows. She believed that being a scientist and being an artist were both ways to explore the universe.

After Mae finished college, she decided she wanted to help people in a different way. She went to Cornell University Medical College to become a doctor. Once she earned her medical degree, Mae joined the Peace Corps. She traveled far away to countries in West Africa, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia. There, she worked as a doctor to keep people healthy and safe. This was a brave thing to do, and it showed that Mae was not afraid to try new things and help people in need.

Even though she was a successful doctor, Mae never forgot her childhood dream of traveling into space. In 1987, she decided to apply to NASA to become an astronaut. It was very difficult to get in, but Mae was chosen out of thousands of applicants! She spent years training her body and her mind. She had to learn how to live in a place with no gravity and how to operate complicated machines. On September 12, 1992, her dream finally became a reality. She blasted off into space on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. This made Mae Jemison the first African American woman to ever travel into space.

While she was orbiting the Earth, Mae was not just looking out the window at the beautiful view. She was a mission specialist, which meant she had a lot of work to do. She conducted several important science experiments. She studied how tadpoles grow in zero gravity and how being in space affects human bone cells. She spent eight days in space and circled the Earth 127 times. To show her love for her culture, she brought a few special items with her, including art from West Africa and a poster from a dance company.

After she returned to Earth, Mae did not stop working. She left NASA to start her own companies that use technology to help people in developing countries. She also started a science camp for kids called "The Earth We Share." She wanted to make sure that more girls and students of color felt like they belonged in the world of science. Mae Jemison remains a hero today. She proved that if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can reach for the stars and actually touch them.