Anusha Ansari, an American of Iranian descent, paid $25 million for a 10-day trip to the International Space Station
Anusha Ansari, who will be the first female space tourist, packs her things for the takeoff Monday morning in a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. The launch is expected at 6:08 (Israel time) from Kazakhstan. She will join the new crew of the International Space Station and return after about ten days together with the members of the previous crew.
In return for being 10 days on the space station, Ansari will part with 25 million dollars. During her stay, she plans to take pictures and write a blog, and will also assist the European Space Agency in conducting medical and biological experiments.
Before taking off, Ansari went through training that lasted about eight months, including a two-week training that included flights in special planes that make loops in the sky, during which the passengers experience about half a minute of zero gravity from time to time. The 40-year-old engineer is the fourth space tourist. When she was 16 years old, she immigrated to the United States from Iran. She made her fortune in the cellular industry in the United States. Ansari was in fact a substitute for a Japanese businessman who was disqualified from the flight for health reasons. And therefore Ansari's flight was brought forward by at least six months.
