Swinburne Student Visited the International Space Station!

When Swinburne Astronomy Online was launched world-wide in 2000, we had no idea that in 2006 one of our students would be launched in to orbit! SAO Masters student Anousheh Ansari is the world's first female space tourist. On Monday 18 September, Anousheh was part of the Soyuz TMA-9 mission which launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan en route to the International Space Station (ISS). Anousheh visited the ISS for eight days and returned to Earth with the ISS-13 Expedition crew.

Anousheh Ansari prepares to become the world's first female space tourist

Anousheh did her astronaut training in May 2006 (while studying the SAO units Exploring the Solar System and Studies in Space Exploration) off the coast of Sevastopol in the Black Sea. Part of this training involved simulations of a splashdown landing in a body of water.

Anousheh 's training in the Black Sea

The space tourism company, Space Adventures, which sent Anousheh to the ISS, was co-founded by another SAO Masters student - Mike McDowell. As well as being chairman of the board of Space Adventures, Mike is the founder of Deep Ocean Expeditions and has done numerous deep sea vent dives and has graciously provided SAO with images for our astrobiology course. Mike and his son went to Kazakhstan to watch the launch and briefly met with Anousheh (who was in quarantine behind a glass screen but was smiling confidently).

Mike McDowell and son with Anousheh prior to the launch

Once back on Earth, SAO interviewed Anousheh about her incredible journey:

SAO:

Anousheh: Seeing Earth, for the first time, from the space was an unforgettable moment. It gives you a new perspective on life. You can see the earth as a precious fragile home we have in a very large universe... you see one earth without borders, without race, without wars... and you realize you have to do everything in your power to preserve it.

SAO: Did you manage to view the (night) sky from ISS - was there any great difference to your view from Earth?

Anousheh: Yes. The night sky was my favorite view out the window... The stars were very bright but not twinkling as much. The sky was so clear that you could see millions of stars... the Milky Way was so prominent and it was hard to tell the constellation because there were so many stars...

SAO: Did you use any of your skills learnt from SAO HET610 Studies in Space Exploration during your flight?

Anousheh: What I learned about the launch systems and the Russian space program was very useful during my training. Also the section on living and working in space was useful in knowing some of the effects of weightlessness on my body and what I should expect in space.

SAO: Were there day-to-day tasks that proved difficult in the space environment - even at the end of the mission?

Anousheh: Moving in space is very different and requires some getting use to. You have to realize that you only need a little effort to move around and you need to push against surfaces to move. However after you learn how to move around effectively, it is really fun to fly around in the space station.
Hygiene in space is something that is not easy to do since you don't have running water or a shower. I never felt fully clean with just wet towel wipes ;-)

SAO: On reflection, in what way has your visit to space changed you?

Anousheh: My trip to space has made even more determined about making space more accessible to everyone. It is know even more obvious how important Space is in the survival of human race and we need more and more young minds to use their imagination and pave the way to the outer solar system and beyond for everyone.

For more information and images, see
www.anoushehansari.com
www.spaceadventures.com/anousheh-ansari/