From medical school to space; Meet first African-American woman to travel into space

Now, 30 years later she's made it her life's mission to ensure more ordinary people can get a chance to exprience space too and Nairobi will be the next frontier in finding future space travellers.

Her schooling life was not void of challenges being a black woman in the sciences but she managed to push the envelope, daring to achieve her dream on flying beyond earth’s stratosphere.

Though the dream of space flight had already been planted in Dr Jemison’s mind, the representation of Nichelle Nichols on the popular sci-fi television series Star Trek fueled her belief that she too belonged among the stars.

Nichols,’ character Lieutenant Uhura in the 1960s series challenged racial stereotypes at the time.

Dr Jemison turned art into reality on September 12, 1992 when she and six other astronauts went into space on the shuttle Endeavor, making history as the first African American woman in space.

She knew her presence had to count for much more than being the first African American woman in space.

Her space flight earned her an appearance on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She played Lieutenant Palmer in the episode, 'Second Chances', the first actual astronaut to do so.

Since that experience, Dr Jemison took up lecturing in universities as well as went on to write her first book in 2001, titled 'Find Where the Wind Goes,' a children’s book about her life.  

Beyond the countless awards she has won and boards she sits on, Dr Jemison wants to ensure she makes a mark on the future of space travel.

Currently, she leads the 100 Year Starship project through the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The project works to make sure human space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years.

The newest initiative is a symposium called Nexus 2023 a hybrid space gathering designed for people from all walks of life.

It is the first of its kind programme outside of the United States that will take place in Nairobi between January 31st and February 4th next year.

At a time when the world’s richest individuals are battling out for a piece of space travel, Dr Jemison wants to democratise the experience and make it accessible to anyone who has an interest in the worlds beyond our own.