Mae Carol Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. Jemison became the first African-American woman to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program on June 4, 1987. On September 12, 1992, She finally flew into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47, becoming the first African-American woman in space. Inspirational Mae Jemison quotes will give you the courage and motivation you need to fight for your dreams.
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Most Famous Mae Jemison Quotes
Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination. – Mae Jemison
Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it and make it the life you want to live. – Mae Jemison
The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me. – Mae Jemison
Once I got into space, I was feeling very comfortable in the universe. I felt like I had a right to be anywhere in this universe, that I belonged here as much as any speck of stardust, any comet, any planet – Mae Jemison
Some of the most fun people I know are scientists. – Mae Jemison
The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity. – Mae Jemison
As an astronaut, you have a very defined set of tasks to do. Those tasks may require you to work 60, 70 or 80 hours a week. – Mae Jemison
I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute that would be difficult to do if I stayed. I thought I could have a stronger voice as an advocate for space exploration. So, I ended up starting my own technology consulting company. – Mae Jemison
What we find is that if you have a goal that is very, very far out, and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities. – Mae Jemison
When God made the color purple, God was just showing off. – Mae Jemison
When I’m asked about the relevance to Black people of what I do, I take that as an affront. It presupposes that Black people have never been involved in exploring the heavens, but this is not so. Ancient African empires – Mali, Songhai, Egypt – had scientists, astronomers. The fact is that space and its resources belong to all of us, not to any one group. – Mae Jemison
You have the right to be involved. You have something important to contribute, and you have to take the risk to contribute it. – Mae Jemison
The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin… or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity. – Mae Jemison
Greatness can be captured in one word: lifestyle. Life is God’s gift to you; style is what you make of it. – Mae Jemison
Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out…You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself. – Mae Jemison
We look at science as something very elite, which only a few people can learn. That’s just not true. You just have to start early and give kids a foundation. Kids live up, or down, to expectations. – Mae Jemison
Sciences provide an understanding of a universal experience, Arts are a universal understanding of a personal experience… they are both a part of us and a manifestation of the same thing… the arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity – Mae Jemison
People always think of technology as something having silicon in it. But a pencil is technology. Any language is technology. Technology is a tool we use to accomplish a particular task and when one talks about appropriate technology in developing countries, appropriate may mean anything from fire to solar electricity. – Mae Jemison
I always knew I’d go to space. – Mae Jemison
My parents were comfortable with me exploring areas that they were not proficient in. Some parents just aren’t comfortable with that. – Mae Jemison
I wanted to be a professional dancer for a period of time, and I did a lot of dancing and choreography and got paid for it. – Mae Jemison
Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience. – Mae Jemison
Some people say they feel very small when they think about space. I felt more expansive, very connected to the universe. – Mae Jemison
I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did not know if I would get in. It was the year after the Challenger accident in 1987. – Mae Jemison
The future never just happened. It was created. – Mae Jemison
I think science fiction helps us think about possibilities, to speculate – it helps us look at our society from a different perspective. It lets us look at our mores, using science as the backdrop, as the game changer. – Mae Jemison
I’ve been very involved in science literacy because it’s critically important in our world today. … As a public, we’re asked to vote on issues, we’re asked to accept explanations, we’re asked to figure out what to do with our own health care, and you can’t do that unless you have some level of science literacy. Science literacy isn’t about figuring out how to solve equations like E=MC². Rather, it’s about being able to read an article in the newspaper about the environment, about health care and figuring out how to vote on it. It’s about being able to prepare nutritious meals. It’s about being able to think your way through the day. – Mae Jemison
Sometimes people ask me how difficult the astronaut program was, but being in Sierra Leone, being responsible for the health of more than 200 people, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at age 26 – that prepared me to take on a lot of different challenges. – Mae Jemison
What was really great about ‘Star Trek’ when I was growing up as a little girl is not only did they have Lt. Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols as a technical officer—she was African. … At the same time, they had this crew that was composed of people from all around the world and they were working together to learn more about the universe. … So that helped to fuel my whole idea that I could be involved in space exploration as well as in the sciences. – Mae Jemison
The biggest challenge we all face is to learn about ourselves and to understand our strengths and weaknesses. We need to utilize our strengths, but not so much that we don’t work on our weaknesses. – Mae Jemison
The drills we do, where you’re telling kids to memorize things, don’t actually work. What works is engaging them and letting them do things and discover things. – Mae Jemison
The really wonderful thing that happened to me when I was in space was this feeling of belonging to the entire universe. – Mae Jemison
There are individuals who can support you, but frequently, you have to risk putting yourself out there – and sometimes you just have to push. – Mae Jemison
There is a fascination with the idea that one has ‘seen someone else do something’ before one can achieve it. Maybe that’s true in some cases, but clearly it is not a requirement. I knew what I wanted to do. – Mae Jemison
Timidity does not inspire bold acts. – Mae Jemison
We are all tasked to balance and optimize ourselves. – Mae Jemison
Failure to recognize possibilities is the most dangerous and common mistake one can make. – Mae Jemison
I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They’re really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action. – Mae Jemison
I think that people need an adrenalin rush. Folks need something aspirational; they need to do something that is hard. That’s what ignites the imagination. – Mae Jemison
I want to make sure that that future that we’re creating is one that is the best it can be for people around the world, and also one that includes the full range of our talent and our skills – and, you know, gender and ethnicity, geography – to solving the world’s problems. – Mae Jemison
I’m not somebody who gets teared up or anything, but I still look up at the stars, and it gives me hope, and it gives me energy. I think one of the things that we have to think about it is, we are all a part of this universe. – Mae Jemison
I’ve gotten this advice at different times, and it distills down to one word: purpose. Why are you here? When you start to get distracted by thoughts such as ‘Do I fit in? Does this person like me?’ – remember why you’re there and what you want to accomplish. – Mae Jemison
The level of confidence women are able to build in women-only groups is important. – Mae Jemison
