Be the change you want to see

The first woman space tourist, Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari tells students in Dubai to live their dreams. Reema Saffarini reports.

Not everybody's childhood dreams come true. Why? Some are just childish, others cannot be pursued because there are other things to worry about like finishing school, finding a job or making a living; some are plain impossible! Or are they?

Here is a little story:

Anousheh Ansari always dreamt of becoming an astronaut. Her journey started when she left her home country, Iran, with her family at the age of 18 and went to the United States.

As an immigrant who initially couldn't speak a word of English, Ansari worked hard until she graduated with a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. Along with her husband, she co-founded a multi-million telecommunications company.

All along, she kept alive her dream of travelling in space. She trained with Space Adventures Ltd. – a space tourism company.

On September 18 last year, she blasted off for an eight-day trip to the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 14 crew of the Soyuz TM-9. In doing so, she became the world's first woman, Iranian and Muslim to go into space.

What's the moral of the story?

Be an example
"If you have any dream do not give up on it no matter how implausible it is. Don't be discouraged, work hard." That's what Ansari told students at Zayed University (ZU) during her recent visit to Dubai.

The entrepreneur's visit came as part of a leadership programme being taught at ZU in cooperation with the US Embassy.

During her address, Ansari pointed at a badge on her uniform that read: Imagine… Be the Change… Inspire.

"This was the badge I was wearing when I went on the space trip. We all go to university in search for knowledge. It is not important how much information you have; but what you can do with that. Knowledge without imagination is futile," she said. "What we need to do is create change. Be an example and an inspiration."

Ansari said that her trip proved that women are capable of anything. She cited her own experience as an example.

Setting the standards

"Women face artificial barriers wherever they go. For the six months' training prior to the trip, I went with my husband to the station and people thought that he was the one flying. It was rough and I could feel the hesitation in people's eyes when they knew it was me who was going on the trip. I took a lot of examinations and they did everything they could to see if I would fail," Ansari said.

It was more or less what she had expected, considering that when she first talked about her wish to travel into space, people thought she was crazy.

However, what kept Ansari going was her determination to succeed. "If it is something that you really want and you work hard for, then you can prove everyone wrong. There are a lot of women in the world who were able to prove themselves. [Women] are the ones who set the standards of what they can and cannot do," she said.

However, let's face it, not every woman is as lucky as Ansari. She had a supportive husband and family, she had the money and she had the opportunity.

Imagination

Nevertheless, what helped Ansari through her journey from a non-English speaking immigrant to a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, or from turning from a regular person to a space tourist, was imagination.

"The best thing about imagination is that your dream will stay alive no matter where you are. You can think freely and not be limited by your environment," she said.

Ansari admitted that the opportunities she had might not have existed if she was still living in Iran.

But she emphasised: "What matters most is that you keep your dream alive no matter what. Because once you come across that opportunity around the corner, you should be ready to grab it."

ANOUSHEH ANSARI IN SPACE
What did she do?

- Ansari trained for six months through Space Adventures Ltd, a space tourism company. She was a backup for space tourist Daisuke Enomoto for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station.

- Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying on the Soyuz TMA-9. Accordingly Ansari was chosen to be part of the crew.

- Ansari sat for classes, went for physical, flying and survival training.

- On September 18, 2006, the spacecraft took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, en route to the International Space Station (ISS), with Ansari becoming only the first female and fourth space tourist.

- It took her two days to reach the ISS, where she spent eight days taking part in experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency.

- While in space, Ansari started a space blog www.anoushehansari.com where she documented her daily life in space.

- "After 18 hours of reaching the ISS, I suffered from a headache and lower back pain because there was no gravity. I grew a bit taller up there, which I unfortunately lost when I came back!" Ansari said.

- Planet earth was one of the planets Ansari was mesmerised by.

- "By looking at our planet from the space station and seeing how small it is in the scheme of things, I realised that we are so busy with our environment, problems and homes. We have somehow lost sight of the bigger picture. We are destroying our planet and initiating wars. This made me start looking at life issues from a different perspective," she said.

- Ansari landed back on September 29, 2006 in Kazakhstan.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A SPACE TOURIST?

"Yes, because it's a totally different experience from what we have here on earth and it would be a unique event."
– Anand Kumar, management, University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD)

"Yes, because I would like to see something new. I have always been fascinated with what's out there."
- Julien Serrao, business administration, UOWD

"Yes because it would be something new and different. I am into photography and I think in space I would have a lot of opportunities."
- Gazi Al Janahi, electrical engineering, DMC

"Yeah if I get an opportunity I would like to discover new things."
- Hasna Talal, urban planning, Alhosn University

"Yes of course. This would be a new idea, maybe I would get to see an alien or something."
- Faisal Al Saffar, business administration and financial services, Dubai Men's College

"Possibly. I have always been fascinated by the stars at night so I would like to go up there and see them and the planets."
- Abdullah Julfar, business information technology, Dubai Men's College

"Yeah, why not? I would do it to explore other worlds and see what other life exists out there."
- Basil HEsham, industrial engineering, Alhosn University

"By the time space tourism becomes available to everyone, the tickets won't be as expensive. I would like to see what other planets look like."
– Abdul Kareem Saeed, industrial engineering, Alhosn University

"No, I am afraid of heights."
- DarwIsh Ahmad, industrial engineering, Alhosn University

"Well in my opinion if it's a thing that is not useful and has a lot of risks I prefer not to do it. If it is to serve my country I would. If they can guarantee that it can be a safe trip I would consider it."
- Zayed Al Abdouli, business, Dubai Men's College

"Yeah sure, why not? It's something new and I can learn a lot from it."
– Hiba Adnan, software engineering, Alhosn University

"Yeah I would, because I would want to know what the fuss is about once people start doing it."
- Amani Elabed, industrial engineering, Alhosn University