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.”

“To survive as a species on this planet, we're going to have to see ourselves as Earthlings.”

“We are all tasked to balance and optimize ourselves.”

“The reality is the majority of us will not get off this planet. So the long run is, some kind of space exploration has to benefit us here on Earth.”

“We have to change the way people look at scientists. Today, they are the nerds, the geeks. Instead, we want some of the cool kids to say, 'Hey, this is all right.'”

“I wanted to be a scientist, but I wanted to go into space. They are not mutually exclusive.”

“When I was growing up as a little girl and as a teenager, I loved designing and making dogs' clothes and wanting to be a fashion designer. I took art and ceramics. I loved dance.”

“Seeing a full display of humanity involved in space is a game-changer for everyone. We've all looked at the stars; we've all imagined what was going on. Not everyone wants to go, but everyone wants to know what it's like.”

“Everyone in the astronaut program has a degree in a science field. The crew are the ones who do the experiments, help to design some of the experiments that come from other primary researchers. So it becomes very important that you have a science background.”

“In space, you need to exercise your heart since it's not pumping blood around at the same rate.”

“You have to actually be weighted to something to do the moonwalk, you know.”

“Some of the most fun people I know are scientists.”

“For me, it was really a childhood dream coming true. It's sort of where the fantasy led reality, and then I got to be on the Starship Enterprise anyway. And the cool thing was - is I was the only person on this bridge who had actually been in space.”

“There are individuals who can support you, but frequently, you have to risk putting yourself out there - and sometimes you just have to push.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Intuitive versus analytical? That's a foolish choice. It's foolish, just like trying to choose between being realistic or idealistic. You need both in life.”

“When I was a little girl, I thought when I had an opportunity to go into space, I thought I would at a minimum be working on Mars or another large planet because we were doing all of these incredible things.”

“The best way to get students involved in science and want to follow either science careers or incorporate it in their lives or to achieve science literacy is to expose them to the various jobs in STEM. It's broad from biologists to electricians to nanotechnologists to building fusion engines. It's a wide range of things.”