Mae Jemison, the first black female astronaut to fly to space in 1992, has made history again. Jemison was selected as the winner of the latest challenge by DARPA - the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - under the Pentagon. Last February, NASA and DARPA announced a joint-venture soliciting ideas for the next step in human space exploration. The 100-Year Starship study collected entries until July from various experts in the field, resulting in a ton of ideas for a one-way manned mission into space. And now, the best idea has been chosen, and it was written by a true pioneer in space travel: Mae Jemison, former astronaut and the first black woman in space, submitted the winning proposal, entitled “An Inclusive Audacious Journey Transforms Life Here on Earth & Beyond beating thousands of entries, including one to create human life in space. The new project will be 100 years in the making. Jemison and her crew of experts have been awarded a $500,000 seed grant to begin development of a starship. Jemison and DARPA hope that the training will one day result in the creation of a starship through years of development.
Jemison is no stranger to excellence. The 55-year-old skipper from Alabama is also a physician, engineer, a trained professional dancer and has dedicated service to the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Jemison first flew on the Endeavour shuttle mission and spent six years with NASA before ending her career as an astronaut in 1993. Since then, she has worked in a variety of fields including education, outreach, and technology. And, since there are so many fun things to know about this woman, she speaks four languages including English — Russian, Japanese, and Swahili — and is the only actual astronaut to appear on Star Trek. A fan of the show since she was a kid, Jemison said she was inspired by Lt. Uhura to consider space travel as a career. (She is now good friends with Nichelle Nichols.) And in 1993, she did a walk-on role as Lt. Palmer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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