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Posted: December 8, 2006
She has a smile that lights up a room, the drive and talent to develop and head a multi-million dollar corporation, and a story that’s right out of this world! Plano resident Anousheh Ansari is now a global name, recognized as the first private female astronaut in space, and the first person to receive the keys to the City of Plano.
At a reception following the annual Plano Christmas Parade December 2, Mayor Pat Evans lauded Mrs. Ansari for her contributions to the community through her business and volunteer initiatives and added the admiration of the City Council and community for her 10-day space flight, September 18 -28, 2006.
“We’ve never actually presented the keys to the City to anyone before, and we weren’t quite sure how to do it,” said Mayor Evans in presenting a beautiful glass key case to Mrs. Ansari. “We are all so proud of all you’ve achieved, and the recognition that you’ve brought to Plano.” (See photo above.)
Mrs. Ansari spoke fondly of living in Plano with the pro-business environment it offers while also being a family-friendly community. She and her husband (Hamid Ansari) have been Plano residents since the early 1990’s, basing their global in-home technology business, Prodea Systems, in Plano.
She has served on the board of several non-profit organizations, such as Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas and Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, lending strong support to several global organizations, supporting social entrepreneurship around the world.
Mrs. Ansari is being touted as a role model for women the world over and states she has strived to be a positive example in her work and everything she has ever done. In a pre-flight interview with SPACE.com she stated she hoped to inspire everyone, especially young people, women and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men, “to not give up their dreams and to pursue them.”
Mrs. Ansari has advised there was no one defining moment when she decided to become an astronaut. From the time she can remember she was always fascinated by space, wanting to learn about it and experience it first hand through flight. She advised her husband sometimes jokes that she may have come from another planet and is simply trying to get back home.
She should never be confused as a space “tourist,” buying a ticket to hop a flight to the space station and back. Intensive physical and educational training and long separations from family while continuing to coordinate and develop business projects at home required intense ability, stamina and concentration. She dedicated herself to an intensive six-month training in Star City, Russia, and cross-training at Johnson Space Center-Houston.
She boarded the Soyuz TMA-9 capsule September 18, 2006 along with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and U. S. astronaut Miguel Lopez-Alegria, spending eight days in the International Space Station (ISS). During her stay she performed a series of experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency, including: Researching 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.
A true example of the American dream, Mrs. Ansari immigrated to the U. S. as a non-English speaking teenager. She earned 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. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in astronomy from Swinburne University.
Mrs. Ansari and her family have made a major impact on the future of commercial space travel by providing title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize. The $10 million cash award was earmarked for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.
The first person to publish a weblog from space, read by millions, you can read her daily blogs about her training and life on the International Space Station, as well as gain more information about Mrs. Ansari by clicking here.
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