The first female space tourist Anousheh Ansari urged UCLA students Thursday to pursue their wildest dreams, since she never let her childhood dream of space travel die.
Ansari, who moved to the U.S. from Iran at age 16, spoke under sponsorship of the Iranian Student Group, or ISG, and 30 other student organizations about her life as an Iranian-American and how she achieved her goal of space travel.
ISG members said Ansari was asked to speak in honor of women’s history month and because she acts as a role model to students, said Combiz Abdolrahimi, ISG education chair and organizer of the event.
“(Ansari) gives hope to many others that want to pursue dreams but feel that we can’t,” Abdolrahimi said.
Ansari traveled to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz capsule this past September, after completing six months of cosmonaut training and paying an estimated $20 million.
During her speech, Ansari encouraged students present to work hard and “think freely.”
She ended her presentation with a quote from Albert Einstein, reminding students that “imagination is more important than knowledge.”
“One of our best assets is to visualize and dream, and when we follow that, good things happen,” she said.
Even as a young child Ansari said the “mysteries and wonders of space” had captured her attention, but as a young woman in the United States was unable to become an astronaut because of language and financial barriers.
After completing a bachelor’s degree at George Mason University and a master’s at George Washington University ““ both in engineering ““ Ansari developed an information-technology company with her husband. The couple later sold their company for $500 million, providing Ansari with the time and opportunity to pursue her dream.
“Space is so important because it is a way for us to detect and correct problems here on earth,” Ansari said.
She said her passion for space is largely based on the possibility that space will one day be a “backup plan” for life on Earth, including a potential source of energy and providing medical advancements.
“Space is our future, and because it is our future, we need to pay attention to it,” she said.
The presentation ended with a question and answer session during which audience members questioned whether Ansari’s motives for speaking were political.
Ansari said she does not want to be a political figure but “an example people can follow,” and speaks in order to spread a “message of peace.”
During her presentation Ansari stressed how peaceful the Earth looked to her from the space station, especially since no borders can be seen from space.
Sara Harirchian, chair of ISG, said she wanted Ansari to speak because she identifies deeply with her cultural heritage.
“It’s so rare to see Iranian-Americans portrayed in a positive light,” Harirchian said.
“(Ansari) is someone who goes up and sees the world has no borders and that (asks) why can’t we all get along?” Harirchian said.
Abdolrahimi agreed that Ansari did not speak for political reasons and said the diverse views of the largely Iranian community present cause views to “spin into something (they) shouldn’t be.”