Anousheh Ansari brought more than two decades of success as an entrepreneur and a lifetime of happiness for her country.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”---Henry David Thoreau
Ansari, 40, had always dreamt to be close to the stars. As a young girl, she used to lie back outside and gaze at the sky and the stars till late. After 25 years, her dream manifested into reality as Ansari and two astronauts blasted off for an eight-day expedition aboard the International Space Station on September 18, 2006, in a Russian Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft.
Anousheh has earned a permanent place in history, being the first female tourist, first female Muslim and first Iranian in orbit.
Her cosmic jaunt finally came to an end, when she landed back on Earth early Friday. Suspended from parachutes, the Soyuz TMA-8 capsule, carrying the Iranian-born US entrepreneur and Expedition 13 crew- Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. flight engineer Jeff Williams, touched down on schedule 01:13 GMT in the steppe about 90 kilometres northeast of the town of Arkalyk.
Soyuz TMA-8 was launched on March 30, 2006, carrying the expedition 13 crew, who were superseded by American Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian Mikhail Tyurin, on September 20, 2006.
Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria will be on the ISS for six months. Reiter, the German astronaut who arrived on a US space shuttle in July and flew to the outpost with the expedition 14 crew, is set to return home in December.
"They've completed the landing," a mission control official in Moscow said after the Soyuz TMA-8 capsule, charred black from its fiery re-entry into the atmosphere, landed safely.
As soon as the space craft landed, it was surrounded by a Russian space programme recovery team, who opened the hatch and drew out the astronauts.
Williams, who had been in space for six months, felt good on returning back to Earth. As far as Ansari is concerned, her happiness knew no bounds and said that it was an experience of a life time.
The ground crew gave them each an apple to munch and Ansari was given a bouquet of red roses. Ansari waved and smiled broadly after being presented with the bunch.
While returning back, Ansari was disquieted as she knew she won’t be able to see that view again. However, she said that focusing on positive side of returning, she feels nice to be back home safe and sound.
Ansari was also joined by her husband Hamid at the landing site.
The space travellers were then taken away for medical checks and are due to fly by helicopter to the town of Kostanai where they will board a plane for the trip back to Russia.
Ansari, the Iranian- American Dallas business woman, emigrated to US in 1984. She has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region.
She was listed in Fortune magazine's ‘40 under 40’ list in 2001 and honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.
Besides 4 space walks during her stay at the ISS, she conducted scientific experiments for the European Space Agency ESA. She researched the mechanisms behind anemia, how changes in muscles influence lower back pain, consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.
Ansari said that her cosmic trip was magnificent and she even got a farewell before leaving the space station.
The adventurous lady feels elated after her dream trip. “My trip has come to an end, but my dreams have just started”, said Ansari.
Religion
The discussion on this board with religious mad persons is exactly why religious people make me sick! I hope to leave this place to another planet which there is no religion on it.
My humble opinion
The money that she spent was earned by herself. She has the right to spend it in whichever way she wants. That said, the money could have been, in my humble opinion, spent in a better way by giving it to some charity.
That is all.
views
I think, it was her own money, and she has every right to spend it on whatever she wants, and there is nothing unislamic in her doing that and even if it is it is her personal descision and we have no right object to that. Infact we should be proud at what she has achived at the age of 40 as an great business women..
The worlds need men and women like her...
Regards
Her money...her wish!!!
That was her hard earned money and it is totally upto her how she spends it. She is a role model for everyone and teaches the lesson of hard work, patience, courage, determination and FAITH IN GOD. She is a go getter and her act has instilled hope in us that no dreams go unrealized if we keep faith.
A "hard-earned" $20,000,000?
A "hard-earned" $20,000,000? This lady probably doesn't even know the meaning of hard work. Hard work is slaving in the feilds making just enough money to feed your family and pay the rent.
Business is all about rippoing off the other guy. It's not hard work.
I keep my faith in the stupidity of humanity.
Response to false ideals
Not many rich people, no matter how rich they are can actualy part with their money. It is impressive that Anousheh gave up that much money in order to pursue her dreams. The return on her investment and the motivation that she sends across specialy for women is much more than the 20 million dollars that she spent. Your interpretation of Islam should be limited to yourself and should you treat your own family that is your choice. However mentioning that this job is not right because she was touched by other men is not a religous statement but a personal at best. No religion limits the progress and advancement for men or women. Please just realize that this is all your interpreation of Islam but not other people reality. Extremism and forcing your spirituality onto others in any religion is counterproductive. No place in Koran is said that women can not travel to space. I respect your opinion and hopefuly you will respect mine too even though we think differently. Best regards.
.."No place in Koran is said
.."No place in Koran is said that women can not travel to space"..even if the Koran said women can not travel into space and if i were an Islam woman i still go into space, why i let the Koran stop my decent dream.
Islam is a false idol
Get out of the dark ages. The earth isn't flat anymore, Abdul whatever your name is. Your religion wants humanity to revert back to the stone age. We don't want you Mohamedians screwing up the world - get back in your cave and research your koranic verses, but leave progressive muslims like ANsari out of your pathetic life, and don't dare to suggest punishment for her. Shaaria? [barf]
Ignorance
I am assured with one thing... That you know nothing about humanity, when all you care about is petty, stupid issues. The Ansari X prize is a huge gift to humanity, we need to get off this planet, and start taking our first steps away from this basket called earth. Narrow minded individuals will never let this happen, but when that asteroid, or war happens which destroys all the eggs in this basket, your last words will probably be "it was gods will". Get off your lazy butt and try to learn as much as you can about everything, and worry about humanities future, not just our religon's. At least she is DOING something about it. What have you done? Aren't you just jealous that you don't have 20 million yourself to give up? If you had that much, would you? Ha. Thought so.
False idols
Ansari went to space neither in scientific quest being sent by a space organization nor did she do anything spectacular to mention. All she did was to waste 20 million dollars which could have been an year's budget of a poorer muslim nation like bangladesh. This is only show of money and against the islamic principle of charity with the money going to muslim bashing countries like Russia. She was also totally unislamic in her training and journey what with men handling every part of her body during the training and hugging men during the journey. She deserves strict punishment as per the shariat for not only being unislamic but setting a very bad example to muslim women. She also commented negatively about Middle East and women.
This is the kind of attitude
This is the kind of attitude that we in America are very much against. Religious extremists, of whatever stripe, are some of the worst people on earth. You show intolerance and disrespect for women. I can understand Mrs. Ansari's negative comments about people like you. You are a ....censored....
Oh please....
Anousheh earned the money and has the right to spend it where and how she wishes. The fact is, despite your contention that she is "unislamic" and deserves "strict punishment as per the shariat", she'll be viewed as a heroine and role model for women of all races and religions around the world - including a lot of "islamic" women in the US and worldwide.
If you believe being "islamic" means that she should hide under a burka and weave rugs (or whatever), just cook, bear children and never speak unless "given permission", maybe you should go back to the 14th century, as that's where a lot of the ideas you espouse belong.
Your commentary about "men handling every part of her body during the training and hugging men during the journey" is just ludicrous, juvenile, and strikes me as someone who possibly has some problems with sexual repression. There was nothing sexual about any of it, so just get over it.
I don't want to knock your belief system, but a lot of the ideas you allude to are as outdated in today's world as slavery was in the 1800's in the US. Allah willing, the subjegation of women that you apparently support will eventually fall away under its own oppressive gravity - just as slavery did.
Ultimately, I see Anousheh's space exploration as a success and step forward for women - Islamic and otherwise - everywhere. To paraphrase..."one small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind".
Sorry Ghouse, but with any luck, your tired, medieval ideas will be dust soon enough. On the other hand, Anousheh and her pioneering exploits are the stuff of legends, and a powerful catalyst for change.
Ansari’s cosmic jaunt comes to an end
Ghouse Pasha,
A woman can do any thing she wants in Islam, infact examples are given of her ability to be a top scholar, big time nurse in war, run her own business.
congratulations to Ansari for taking that giant leap.
Nuclear power can build plants and give energy to people, or destory Hiroshima, traffic rules are for peaceful commuting and people violate it, murder is wrong in every faith, yet we have murders.
Islam is for freedom and is not a restrictive religion as you present. You do the way it works for you and let rest of the Muslims do the way it works for them.
Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress
I recommend you read the
I recommend you read the book The Caged Virgin by Ali Hirsi--another woman who escaped cruelty and oppression.
> it's only a show of money
Not really. As you say, it's an example to women all over the world.
I think you're (Ghouse) mad
I think you're (Ghouse) mad because her desire to go into space was sucessful. You should focus more on your life as a Muslim. Don't worry about anyone other peoples' desires, Muslim or not.
Post new comment