Mission Specialist Mae C. Jemison at aft flight deck ports on Space Shuttle mission STS-47 in 1992. Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992. After her medical education and a brief general practice, Jemison served in the Peace Corps from 1985 to 1987, when she was selected by NASA to join the astronaut corps.