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easyQ. No. 18013

Who is recognized as the first Black woman to travel into space?

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Mae Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, in 1956 and grew up in Chicago. Jemison took a degree in chemical engineering at Stanford University, then a medical degree at Cornell. Before NASA, Jemison worked as a doctor with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and Liberia. NASA picked Jemison for astronaut training in 1987, one of only fifteen chosen from about two thousand applicants. Jemison left the agency in 1993 and set up a company that applied space technology to health and education in developing countries. Jemison has also spoken often about the need to encourage young Black girls to study science.

AKalpana Chawla
BSally Ride
CMae Jemison
DGuion Bluford
Correct Answer: Mae JemisonYour Answer: C

Explanation

Correct answer: Option C (Mae Jemison). She flew as a science mission specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-47, which lifted off on 12 September 1992 and lasted about eight days. Why the other options are wrong: Option A (Kalpana Chawla): She was the first woman of Indian origin in space, flying on Columbia in 1997, and she is not linked with this distinction. Option B (Sally Ride): She was the first American woman in space in 1983, nine years before Jemison. Option D (Guion Bluford): The engineer and Air Force pilot became the first African American in space aboard Challenger on 30 August 1983, but he is a man. Remember: Jemison, Endeavour and 1992 belong together.

Important Notes

  • The Space Shuttle programme flew 135 missions between 1981 and 2011, and its final flight was made by Atlantis.
  • Japan's Mamoru Mohri, a scientist-astronaut, became the first Japanese national to fly aboard a NASA space shuttle.
  • Mark Lee and Jan Davis, who had married shortly before launch, became the first married couple to fly together in space.

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