Former astronaut Mae Jemison shut down a reporter’s use of the word “mankind” and said it should not be used if perspectives are to be advanced in terms of what people think when discussing space travel.
Jemison was an astronaut with the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1992 and was providing commentary to CBS ahead of the launch of an all-female celebrity crew that went into what is technically considered outer space.
The publicity event, called the New Shepard program (currently NS-31), was launched by Blue Origin, which is owned by billionaire and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. Crew members included singer Katy Perry, CBS host Gayle King, activist Amanda Nguyen, scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, and Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez.
In the early hours before the flight, CBS host Vladimir Duthiers asked Jemison to explain why all space travel was important for science but made an apparent mistake when he used the term “mankind.”
“Explain to our audience why even a trip like this one, all the trips that we take in space, benefit mankind,” Duthiers said, setting Jemison up.
“So it benefits humankind,” Jemison remarked. “And I’m gonna keep correcting the ‘mankind’ and the ‘man-made’ and the ‘manned missions’ because this is exactly what this mission is about, is expanding the perspective of who does space.”
Duthier apologized, “Humankind. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
‘They’re going to go up to space and be able to spread what they felt in different ways.’
As reported by Sky News, while the mission was aimed at creating a “lasting impact that will inspire generations,” the crew members are likely not to be remembered as much given they will not be considered astronauts by any federal entities like the FAA, NASA, or the branches of U.S. military. All have different eligibility requirements that have not been met.
The crew members, who were selected by Sanchez, went on only an 11-minute trip in a reusable, self-driving rocket that traveled 62 miles above Earth. The 62-mile mark is known as the Karman line, which is considered internationally as the official boundary of space. There was an approximated four minutes of weightlessness for the crew during that time.
Sanchez told Elle that her selections for the mission were based upon each woman’s proven ability to inspire others.
“All of these women are storytellers in their own right,” Sanchez claimed. “They’re going to go up to space and be able to spread what they felt in different ways.”
The trip comes as an actual female astronaut, Suni Williams, recently returned to Earth after being stuck in space from September 2024 until March 2025. She along with other crew members were meant to be in space for just two weeks before shuttle complications — and politics — kept the astronauts in orbit much longer.
The first all-female crew was Russian engineer Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight to space in 1963.
There is currently a bevy of female astronauts, some of whom are currently on missions, who have not received anywhere near the same amount of publicity as the recent celebrity trip.
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The post ‘Humankind’: Former astronaut corrects reporter’s use of ‘mankind’ to change his ‘perspective’ on space travel appeared first on TheBlaze.
