Anousheh Ansari: Millionaire pays to go to space, do things "even men are afraid of"

Ms. Ansari realized her dream when she paid more than 20 million USD for a place to travel on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Anousheh Ansari is the CEO of XPrize, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 that organizes public competitions to encourage the development of areas of technology that benefit humanity.

One of the outstanding projects of XPrize is the collaboration with Elon Musk to give a prize of 100 million USD to the person who creates the best carbon capture technology. However, XPrize is not Ansari's only achievement.

Self-made female technology millionaire

Fifteen years ago, in September 2006, she made history as the first woman and first Iranian to pay for herself to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).

"The only thing you can do while in space is the world is really connected," the businesswoman shared. "This world is not made of nations or religions. It is made of oceans, mountains, forests, deserts and clouds."

Ansari dreamed of becoming an astronaut since he was a kid after watching the space science fiction movie "Star Trek". Growing up as an entrepreneur and self-made technology millionaire, Ansari realized her dream when she paid more than $20 million for a trip aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

Anousheh Ansari once shared that:

"At that time, no one took my words seriously because they thought it was just a child's story. People underestimated my persistence."

Success comes to Anousheh Ansari after a process full of efforts and determination. At the age of 16, her whole family immigrated to Virginia (USA). There she taught herself English and graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering. She went on to earn a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University and went to work at the technology company DC .

Not long after in 1993, Ansari and her husband Hamid founded Telecom Technologies. After 7 years, the couple sold the company and made 600 million USD. This money was partly extracted by Ansari to fund the first XPrize project with a prize of $ 10 million to anyone who can safely build a spacecraft that carries a pilot, 2 passengers safely to the edge of space. complete and repeat the journey within 2 weeks.

Mojave Aerospace Ventures - the company founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen then won the award in 2004.

In 2018, Ms. Ansari was appointed CEO of XPrize and is committed to constantly working to contribute and inspire the next generation.

Passion is nurtured in the context of many changes

Growing up in Iran in a middle-class family, Ansari lived a normal life like most other girls. Her life did not change much until the age of 12, when the Iranian revolution broke out. Since then, Anousheh Ansari and his family have always faced the fear of bombings, and essential items have also become scarce.

But despite the chaos going on around, all Anousheh Ansari cared about at the time was realizing her dream of space travel.

"I try to find out if there is anything outside of Earth, if there are aliens. I even hoped that aliens would come to kidnap me and show me their world - a world where I hope that it will be good and peaceful," Ansari recalls.

The journey to pursue the dream of space

When sharing her dream, Ansari realized that people around her were not taking it seriously.

"People will say 'Oh, that's cool,' but I don't think they really think that my dream of going to space will last long or will come true," the businesswoman shared. "But it became part of my blood."

Having dreams of flying into space, Ansari began thinking about designing a spaceship, even though she was only a 10-year-old girl at the time.

It was that passion that made her more determined to become the first female tourist to enter space. Fortunately, she has the support of her family because "they know I don't want to live a life full of regrets."

Reason for becoming a sponsor for XPrize: "As an entrepreneur, this means a lot to me"

The time of selling the company that the couple built together was also the first time Anousheh Ansari had the opportunity to pursue his dream without having to worry about the family's financial problems.

She returned to her studies and research in astronomy, and sought the opportunity to fly into space. That was also when she met Peter Diamandis, founder of XPrize Foundation.

"Peter Diamandis announced the spaceship competition, and it sounded promising. I had a feeling this was just what I needed," recalls Ansari. "If I wanted to build a spaceship, I would only have one chance and it would cost me a lot of money. But holding a competition would allow me to find the most creative minds around the world. in this field. It means a lot to me as an entrepreneur."

In a busy and stressful environment, Ansari believes that good habits help people become calmer. She believes that the morning is the most important time of the day and always spends at least an hour exercising. "I practice meditation, but sometimes my brain is so tense that I can't stay in one place for too long. Going for a walk outside is a form of "meditation" for me, where I can separate myself from everything and most focused."

Despite being a busy businessman, Anousheh Ansari tries to handle the day's work and spends his evenings relaxing by reading books and listening to music.

Feelings of being the first sponsor of XPrize

After selling Telecom Technologies with her husband, Anousheh Ansari had the opportunity to pursue her childhood dream for the first time. She returned to school to study astronomy and look for opportunities to send commercial passengers into space.

After meeting Peter Diamandis - the founder of XPrize, she quickly saw this as an opportunity to make her dream come true.

"If I wanted to build a spaceship by myself, I would only have to try it once and spend a lot of money. However, holding a competition will help me find the best minds in the world and build them together. create a spaceship. As an entrepreneur, I think it makes sense."

$100 million project in cooperation with Elon Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk has been one of XPrize's close friends since its early days.

He is one of the board members of the Ansari XPrize competition, and has a lot in common with Ansari when they both share about aerospace and the future of space tourism.

Regarding the project of a $100 million contest project for the most effective carbon capture method, CEO XPrize said that this is an idea that has been cherished by the fund for many years. The moment came in January 2021, when Elon Musk was challenged on Twitter about philanthropy.

XPrize contacted and Tesla CEO agreed, the famous billionaire also decided to sponsor $ 100 million for the contest aimed at fighting climate change. "The contest model allows us to pre-fund groups of students. I think this will help new technologies come out a lot faster," Anousheh Ansari said of the contest organized by XPrize and Elon Musk. .

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