CBS Interview Gets Derailed When Reporter Says ‘Mankind’ to Female Astronaut Ahead of All-Women Spaceflight: ‘Sorry, I’m Sorry’

A Monday morning interview with former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison on CBS News was derailed when network host Vladimir Duthiers used the word “mankind” ahead of a historic all-female Blue Origin flight.

Jemison said she would intervene to correct the language when she heard terms such as “mankind,” “man-made,” and “manned missions” as Duthiers apologized.

A vessel carrying pop singer Katy Perry, CBS’s Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, and three other women took off Monday morning and returned safely to Earth minutes later.

The automated mission was the first ever to feature an all-female crew.

Ahead of takeoff, Jemison sat down with CBS Mornings hosts Duthiers and Nate Burleson.

Jemison, the first Black woman to travel to space, told the hosts that her 1992 expedition gave her a different “perspective” of what happens on Earth.

Duthiers said at one point, “So, explain to our audience why even a trip like this one, all the trips that we take into space, benefit mankind.”

“Uhh, so, it benefits humankind,” Jemison replied. “And I’m going to 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.”

As Jemison spoke, Duthiers said, “Humankind. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Jemison continued, “Why is space important? When you just look at it, when you go up you get a perspective of the world that you can’t get looking down on the ground and you get it much faster.”

She added that people often forget that human activity in space affects everyday life.

Jemison’s NASA bio reads:

Dr. Mae Jemison, physician, engineer, educator and entrepreneur, was the first woman of color in the world to go into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour and was a NASA astronaut for six years. She is the Principal for the 100 Year Starship Project and her leadership and vision provides guidance and direction for the foundation and in fulfilling its goal of ensuring all the capabilities for a successful human journey to another star will exist by 2112.

Watch above via CBS News.