Mae Jemison overcame many obstacles in order to reach her goal. She wanted to be a scientist at a young age, but in common society of that time, women didn't ever become scientists. It was difficult for her to be in college because of her race and gender.

"Some professors would just pretend I wasn't there. I would ask a question and a professor would act as if it was just so dumb, the dumbest question he had ever heard. Then, when a white guy would ask the same question, the professor would say, 'That's a very astute observation."

A timeline of Maes life:

· 1956 Mae Jemison is born on October 17 in Decatur, Alabama.

· 1959 The family moved to Chicago, Illinois.

· 1961 Her first day of kindergarten.

· 1973 She graduated high school from Morgan park high school in Chicago.

· 1973 She entered Stanford University at the age of 16.

· 1981 She graduated from Cornell University Medical College with a degree in medicine.

· 1983 Mae Jemison joined the Peace Corps and she was a medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia for more two years.

· 1985 She worked as a doctor in Los Angeles, California while applying to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

· 1986 Challenger space shuttle was exploded on January 28, 1986.

· 1992 September 12, 1992 she boarded the spaceship Endeavour on the STS-47 mission.

· 2013- Currently retired but still teaches every now and then.

· 2013 -Currently living in Houston, Texas.