Religion can be a pretty touchy subject nowadays, and Iranian-American relations are another sore point. So as Anousheh Ansari prepares to become the first Iranian-born Muslim woman to travel to the international space station, there are a lot of political pitfalls to be avoided. At the same time, there are a lot of opportunities for inspiring young people, particularly in Iran. So far, Ansari is doing a good job on pitfall avoidance as well as international inspiration.
All you have to do is look at the messages from Iran on Ansari's blog, as well as the countdown page from the Iranian Space Agency, to see how warmly she's being embraced by her native country - even though she left 24 years ago, after the fall of the shah, in search of greater opportunities in America.
Reuters |
| Anousheh Ansari gets ready for flight. |
The Iran angle is touched upon in interviews, including Space.com's Q&A with Ansari and The Associated Press' profile (which also touches upon allegations of insider trading surrounding her family's stock sales). There's even a bit of a flap over Ansari's mission patch, which includes the colors of the Iranian flag.
If the claims that U.S. officials want Ansari to strike those colors from her patch are true, "it's the stupidest damn thing I've ever heard," said Rick Tumlinson, co-founder of the Space Frontier Foundation:
"We're missing a tremendous opportunity to deliver a message to the real Iranian people," he told me. "She should wear the Iran flag on her suit, and our people should be proclaiming the fact that an Iranian woman, oppressed in her own country, can come here and make a fortune and spend it by pursuing her dream, enabled by an American company working with the Russians to fly her in space."
NBC News space analyst James Oberg, meanwhile, has been interested in what happens when Muslim news media chronicle the exploits of a Westernized Muslim woman in the news. For example, he notes that at least one picture of Ansari during training appears to have been altered to cover more of her hair - and in a posting to the sci.space.station discussion board, he wonders whether Ansari might actually alter the course of the upcoming holy month of Ramadan:
"Currently, the first day of Ramadan this year is expected to be September 24, following a sighting the previous evening of the crescent new moon by observant Muslims. But it's possible that Ansari's unique position in space may allow her to spot the crescent a day earlier, and if she reports it credibly, the entire Muslim world may have to start Ramadan a day earlier than expected."
I asked Ansari about that moon angle during this week's interview. To my mind, her answer was pitfall-free, and inspirational to boot:
"To be honest with you, I will be observing the moon as many times as I can, because I think it's a beautiful view up there. But it makes it that much more special, knowing that it's a very special time for Muslims around the world. For me to be able to observe that very closely is very special, and I look forward to it."
