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Anousheh Ansari had the perfect excuse to skip astronomy class.<\/p>\n
“I’m sorry, I can’t finish this lesson,” she said to the teacher. “I’m going to space.”<\/p>\n
In 2006, space became available on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station. The Japanese candidate was unable to participate in the mission due to a bout with chronic kidney stones. Ansari was next in line.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nSpace explorer Anousheh Ansari has become the fourth non-government-funded spaceflight participant to visit the International Space Station. <\/span>Provided by: Anousheh Ansari<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShe jumped at the chance and became the first woman to self-fund a space flight. But what she did next greased the wheels of commercial space travel and laid the foundation for future space travel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Ansari was this week awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology, where he studied astronomy online, in recognition of his impact on space exploration and research.<\/p>\n
Mr. Ansari witnessed the growth of the Islamic revolution in Tehran. When Khomeini took over in 1979, the regime closed her school and her ambitions to become an astrophysicist or astronaut were thwarted. “The new Iran did not tolerate such dreams of women,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nAnousheh Ansari received an honorary doctorate from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.<\/span>Wayne Taylor<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAnsari and his family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1984, where he studied electrical engineering and computer science. She and her husband started a telecommunications company.<\/p>\n
Their work brought in millions of income. As his 40th birthday approached, Ansari booked a $20 million plane ticket to space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Working with Space Adventures, a company that offers private space travel through the Russian space program, Ansari underwent six months of astronaut training and took off in September 2006. The 11-day ISS expedition changed her.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nSpace explorer Anousheh Ansari floats aboard the International Space Station.<\/span>documentary channel<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\nAnsari became the first female commercial space traveler, traveling alongside Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov (right) and American cosmonaut Jeffrey Williams.<\/span>AFP<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n“Everything in your world is out there: your family, your friends, your school, your home, your memories. And you’re seeing it from there. It’s like an out-of-body experience,” said Ansari, who received his Ph.D. on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“All the little things disappear and you only see the big things. You see the landscape, you don’t see boundaries or borders. That’s the message I took home.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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After battling a bout of microgravity-induced vomiting, Ansari took part in experiments on back pain and anemia, taking swabs from his body to test how bacteria grows in space.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nAnousheh Ansari was also the first Iranian to go into space.<\/span>Provided by: Anousheh Ansari<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\nThe Soyuz capsule will land in Kazakhstan in 2023.<\/span>AP<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRe-entry was the scariest part. The Soyuz capsule was small and hot. Reaching into the atmosphere and feeling the parachute deploy was like driving a wheelbarrow over Niagara Falls, Ansari recalled, quoting another astronaut.<\/p>\n
Russia did not have the ability to make an open ocean landing like Artemis II, so the capsule crashed violently onto land. However, Ansari returned home safely. Her journey greatly influenced her subsequent actions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI realized that we typically spend 80 percent of our time on the trivial things, what I call the \u2018noise of life,\u2019 and maybe only 20 percent on the big-picture important things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
“I decided to reverse that ratio and focus 80 percent of my time and attention on the important things in life, and only 20 percent on the noise.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\nNew Earthrise photographed by the Artemis II crew. Seeing Earth from space forever changes an astronaut’s worldview.<\/span>AP<\/span><\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMr. Ansari left the company to become chief executive officer of the XPRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit that runs lucrative competitions aimed at promoting innovation. The first competition, Ansari XPRIZE, awarded $10 million in funding to the first non-governmental organization to build a reusable manned spacecraft.<\/p>\n
Burt Rutan won with SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The award is thought to have sparked a flurry of activity, revitalizing the US$469 billion commercial space sector and leading to regular launches from companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Approximately 700 people went to space. That number is likely to skyrocket given the renewed interest from the commercial industry that Artemis II and Ansari partially helped launch.<\/p>\n