The Amazing Mae Jemison, Written By Makaila Odoom
When I was born twelve years ago, the first African American astronaut, who is a woman, had already gone to space. Her name is Mae Jemison. The fact that I did not have to wait for that historic trip to happen, sets a foundation for people my age. It is also a starting point for people of all ages and races to be inspired to be engineering problem solvers in their communities. Jemison has motivated people around the globe, not just to learn more about space ourselves, but also, she has shown us that we can do anything we want to do, with hard work, even if we are the first of our race, or the first woman to do it.
As a child, Mae Jemison was influenced by Newton’s Laws of Motion. Her dedication to science lead her to become an astronaut at NASA. In 1992, she was part of NASA’s STS-47 crew on the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission was called Spacelab Life Sciences. She was in a diverse group of seven astronauts. There were people from different places, of different races and different genders. Two astronauts were even married!
During the mission, Jemison studied life science topics including weightlessness and motion sickness, as it occurs in space. She was also a co-investigator who did research experiments examining bone cells. That research, and other studies on bone cells, are the building blocks that continue to pave the way for medical improvements in areas like bone regeneration and cancer research.
Mae Jemison has made an impact on the air and space industry, as well as the medical field. She has helped the world and she did it as a African American woman, an astronaut, an engineer, a medical doctor, a person who speaks four languages, a dancer, as someone who loves to ski and take pictures. All of these accomplishments and interests shape how she approaches and takes on challenges and her work did not stop there. The year after Jemison went to space, she founded The Jemison Group, Inc. The company engineers solutions that tackle the needs of groups of people who have the same values.
Jemison also started the BioSentient Corporation where she is the president and CEO. The company helps improve people’s health and functions through its medical devices. One of their products people can wear, and it monitors their vital signs while helping them relax in stressful situations.
One reason I chose Mae Jemison was because of something she said in an interview. She said hands-on science education should be available to everyone. That means everyone, of every color. Everyone includes me…an African American homeschooled girl from North Carolina. My brother and I have always been taught at home, and we have done hands-on science since as far back as I can remember.
A few years ago, my brother and I were part of a very diverse homeschool cooperative, also called a co-op. It offered elective classes with other students. There, our mom taught lego engineering, but that was not all that we learned. Other parents taught subjects like rubber band engineering, geology, foreign languages, different types of STEAM classes, improvisation, visual arts and all kinds of other lessons. It was a great example of engineering for young people, because we all came together to build amazing things and solve problems. Actually, a homeschool co-op itself is a perfect example of engineering, because it is made up of people of different races, ages and communities coming together to figure out answers. In our case, we used computers, organized classes, found out where to meet, got supplies and so much more. Just like Mae Jemison, we were solving problems, learning and having fun too!
Mae Jemison’s trip to space and my homeschool co-op show that input from different people, including non-white people and women, brings different points of view to help engineer solutions in a more detailed way. Someday, we will see as new things are created, there will be various products and services that can help people. Looking at those innovations from different points of view can only make them better and help an even bigger group of diverse people.
Bibliography
Race in America: Mae Jemison, MD
By Washington Post Live on March 1, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. EST
https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/03/01/race-america-mae-jemison-md/
Dr. Mae Jemison: Astronaut, Businesswoman, & Dreamer of Big Dreams
By BlackDoctor.org Staff on February 21, 2022
https://blackdoctor.org/dr-mae-jemison-the-businesswoman-you-never-knew/
Mission Information and Crew
No Author Available Last update on September 09, 2020.
http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/sts-47.htm
Dr. Mae Jemison Talks Using Space Exploration to Make the World Better
By theGrio Politics published on unspecified date one year ago
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