Duke6h ago
Spocko

Today we're sending the first black person & the first woman to the moon.

But I know that Dr. Mae Jemison was the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Jemison

Also, Jemison became the first real-life astronaut to appear on #StarTrek
Here's Jemison as Lt. Palmer in #StarTrekTNG episode Second Chances talking to Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, outside the set.
#Artemis #Artemis2

9:45pmWeb
Show threadWasted Radiance8h ago

@spocko

Don't forget the first non-american & non-NASA astronaut, Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Show threadInfoseepage7h ago

@spocko But not first black person. The first person of African descent to fly into space was Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, a Cuban, way back in 1980.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnaldo_Tamayo_M%C3%A9ndez

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez - Wikipedia

Show threadInfoseepage7h ago

@spocko Basically, the Russians won on both first colored person in space, first woman in space, first Latino in space etc.

Granted, they were doing it for the propaganda value to show that the US space program was racist, sexist, etc....but, you know, it was...

Show threadSammi6h ago
@spocko Perhaps a timely reminder that the first woman in space was 1963, Valentina Tereshkova and she is the only woman to have flown solo in space. She did this at the age of 26.
Show threadRachel Greenham6h ago
@spocko BBC news had her on for reactions after the launch (among others). Fraid I had the sound off… interviewer was too annoying.
Show threadCarolyn4h ago
@spocko And Canadian! 🙂
Show threadCraig Hockenberry4h ago
@spocko Typo on her last name: should be Jemison.
Show threadSpocko3h ago
@chockenberry Thank you! And thank you #Mastodon for having an edit function.
Show threadCraig Hockenberry3h ago
@spocko No problem. Glad to see you getting more people know about her and her accomplishments!
Show threaddecapitae4h ago
@spocko 🖖
Show threadCoastalCoasting3h ago

@spocko

Do you know how the backstage moment with Nichols happened?

That would be a supremely cool casting perk, meeting my heroes and getting to be on the show that inspired so much... Jemison got to live 3 of my dreams and I salute her for it.

Show thread✶Rayotron✶1h ago

@spocko

The circle was complete when Mae Jemison met Nichelle Nichols because Jemison had been very much inspired by her.

On the shuttle Jemison started each shift with "Hailing frequencies open." A Trekkie to the bone.

Nichols was going to quit Star Trek after the first season but Martin Luther King convinced her to stay. Later Nichols worked with NASA to recruit women and minorities. Thanks to King, she continued to inspire kids like Jemison and then go on to change NASA.

Show threadLaukidh15m ago
@spocko The game Starfield named a planet after her, the main hub world. https://starfield.fandom.com/wiki/Jemison
Jemison

Jemison is the third planet in the Alpha Centauri system. It has one moon.[1] It is the capital of the United Colonies One day in Jemison is equivalent to about 49 Universal hours. An earth-like planet with abundant flora and fauna, Jemison is home to the city of New Atlantis, the largest city in the Settled Systems. Jemison was one of the first exo-planets settled by humans following humanity's exodus from Earth. Following the invention of the Grav Drive in 2138, space travel enthusiasts...

Starfield Wiki