View source for Anousheh Ansari

{{Infobox person
| name = Anousheh Ansari
| image = AnoushehAnsari 140x190.jpg
| alt =  
| caption = Ansari in her spacesuit
| birth_name = Anousheh Raissyan
| birth_date = {{Birth-date and age|mf=yes|September 12, 1966}}
| birth_place = [[Mashhad]], Iran
| residence = Plano, Texas
| occupation = Businessperson
| nationality = Iranian, American
| citizenship = dual [[Iranian-American]]
| religion = Islam<ref name=usembassy/><ref name=macmillan/>
| alma_mater = George Mason University<br>George Washington University
| spouse = Hamid Ansari (m. 1991)
| relatives = [[Amir Ansari]] (Brother-in-law)
| education = Electrical engineering and computer science
|}}

'''Anousheh Ansari''' ({{lang-fa|انوشه انصاری}}; née '''Raissyan''';<ref name="U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space">{{cite news | url= http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1071358.html | title= U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space | publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|RFE/RL]] | date=2006-09-15 | accessdate=2011-02-12| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110120193727/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1071358.html| archivedate= 20 January 2011 | deadurl= no}}</ref> born September 12, 1966, in [[Mashhad]], Iran) is an [[Iranian-American]] engineer and co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of [[Telecom Technologies, Inc.]] (TTI). The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the [[Ansari X Prize]]. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first Iranian woman in space.<ref name="Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars"/> Ansari was the fourth overall self-funded [[Space tourism|space traveler]], and the first self-funded woman to fly to the [[International Space Station]]. Her memoir, ''My Dream of Stars'', co-written with [[Homer Hickam]], was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2010.<ref>http://us.macmillan.com/mydreamofstars/AnoushehAnsari</ref>

==Early life==
'''Anousheh Ansari''' was born in [[Mashhad]], Iran. She and her parents moved to Tehran shortly afterward.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ece.gmu.edu/alumni_news.htm|title=Alumni news|publisher=George Mason University|date=2001|accessdate=2006-09-22 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060901092159/http://ece.gmu.edu/alumni_news.htm  |archivedate = 2006-09-01}}</ref> Anousheh is Muslim,<ref name=usembassy>[http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2006/09/20060921184117btruevecer0.1222956.html#axzz2cEtN6IRe Iranian-Born American Is World's First Muslim Woman in Space], By Tim Receveur, Washington File Staff Writer, 21 September 2006.</ref><ref name=macmillan>http://us.macmillan.com/author/anoushehansari</ref> she witnessed the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979. She immigrated to the United States in 1984 as a teenager.<ref name="Female space tourist blasts off">{{cite news | url= http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/18/space.female.tourist/index.html| title= Female space tourist blasts off | publisher=CNN | date=2006-09-18 | accessdate=2006-09-18| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060920022040/http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/18/space.female.tourist/index.html| archivedate= 20 September 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Apart from her native Persian, she is fluent in English and French, and acquired a working knowledge of Russian for her spaceflight experience.<ref>WARREN E. LEARY, [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/science/space/12tourist.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin ''She Dreamed of the Stars; Now She’ll Almost Touch Them''], NY Times , September 12, 2006</ref>

She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and her master's degree at George Washington University in Washington D.C.<ref name="Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars">{{cite news |title= Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars|author=Andrew Buncombe |date=2006-09-18}}</ref><ref name="Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna">{{cite web|url=http://www.gmu.edu/alumni/spirit/00fall/ansari.html|title=Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna|work=George Mason University alumni newsletter|author=Emily Yaghmour|accessdate=2006-08-27 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060525030252/http://www.gmu.edu/alumni/spirit/00fall/ansari.html  |archivedate = 2006-05-25}}</ref><ref>GINA SUNSERI,
[http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2455201&page=1 ''First Female Space Tourist Takes Off''] ABC News, Sept. 18, 2006</ref>

After graduation, Anousheh began work at [[MCI Inc.|MCI]], where she met her future husband, Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991.<ref name="First female space tourist poised for launch">{{cite news |title= First female space tourist poised for launch | publisher=CNN .com | date=2006-09-15 | accessdate=2006-09-15}}</ref>

Ansari resides in Plano, Texas.

==Business career==
In 1993, she persuaded her husband, Hamid Ansari, and her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, to co-found Telecom Technologies Inc., using their savings and corporate retirement accounts, as a wave of deregulation hit the telecommunications industry.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
The company was a supplier of softswitch technology that enabled telecom "service providers to enhance system performance, lower operating costs and furnish new revenue opportunities." The company, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, offered a line of products that allowed for integration between existing legacy telecom networks and application-centric, next-generation networks via [[Call control|software switch technology]].<ref name=sn20010116>
{{cite web |title=Telecom Technologies Wins 2nd Straight Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award |url=http://www.sonusnet.com/content/press-details/TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES-WINS-2ND-STRAIGHT-COMMUNICATIONS-SOLUTIONS-PRODUCT-OF-YEAR-AWARD/235.aspx |work=press release |publisher=Sonus Networks |accessdate=2011-03-29 |date=2001-01-16}}</ref>
Telecom Technologies was acquired by [[Sonus Networks, Inc.]] in 2001 in a stock-for-stock transaction for 10.8 million shares of Sonus stock. Anousheh Ansari became "a vice president of Sonus and general manager of Sonus' new INtelligentIP division."<ref name=sn20010118>
{{cite web |title=Sonus Networks Completes Acquisition of Telecom Technologies |url=http://www.sonusnet.com/content/press-details/SONUS-NETWORKS-COMPLETES-ACQUISITION-OF-TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES/233.aspx |work=press release |publisher=Sonus Networks |accessdate=2011-03-29 |date=2001-01-18}}</ref>
<!-- for $550 million in stock.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} -->
{{as of|2001|03}}, she remained in that position.<ref>[http://www.sonusnet.com/content/press-details/QWEST-TO-DEPLOY-SONUS-NETWORKS-PACKET-VOICE-SOLUTIONS-IN-NEXT-GENERATION-VOICE-NETWORK/227.aspx QWEST TO DEPLOY SONUS NETWORKS' PACKET VOICE SOLUTIONS IN NEXT-GENERATION VOICE NETWORK], 13 March 2001.</ref><!-- per a search, this is the latest Sonus press release to mention Ansari by name. -->{{update after|2011|03|29}}

In 2006, she co-founded Prodea Systems, and is the current chairman and CEO.<ref name=ps20110329mt>
{{cite web |title=Prodea Systems: Management Team |url=http://www.prodeasystems.com/what-is-prodea/management-team/ |work=company website |publisher=Prodea Systems |accessdate=2011-03-29}}</ref>

==Space==
Ansari has expressed that she does not consider herself a "space tourist", and prefers the title of "[[spaceflight participant]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMD58BE8YE_index_0.html|title=Space for Business Newsletter article from February 2007: "I am NOT a tourist"}} February 2007</ref>

Ansari is a member of the X PRIZE Foundation’s Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees.<ref name="X Prize Foundation Board">{{cite web | title= Board of Trustees | url= http://www.xprizefoundation.com/about_us/board.asp | publisher= [[X PRIZE Foundation]] | accessdate=2006-09-11| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060910180940/http://www.xprizefoundation.com/about_us/board.asp| archivedate= 10 September 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Along with her brother-in-law, [[Amir Ansari]], she made a multimillion-dollar contribution to the X PRIZE foundation on May 5, 2004, the 43rd anniversary of [[Alan Shepard]]'s sub-orbital spaceflight. The X PRIZE was officially renamed the ''Ansari X PRIZE'' in honor of their donation. As demonstrated by her commitment to the X PRIZE and through presentations at Space Enthusiast conferences, Ansari is a spokesperson for the "privatization of space", a process enabling commercially viable companies to government-independently send equipment and/or people into space for exploration and other purposes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Saab|first=Bechara|title=Planet Earth, Space Debris|journal=Hypothesis|date=September 2009|volume=7|issue=1|pages=e1|doi=10.5779/hypothesis.v7i1.138|url=http://www.hypothesisjournal.com/?p=828}}</ref>

The Ansari family investment firm, also named Prodea, has announced a partnership with [[Space Adventures|Space Adventures, Ltd.]] and the [[Russian Federal Space Agency|Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation]] (FSA) to create a fleet of suborbital spaceflight vehicles (the [[Space Adventures Explorer]]) for global commercial use.<ref name="Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures and the [[Ansari X PRIZE]] Title Sponsors, to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles ">{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-16-2006/0004283899&EDATE=|title=Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures, and the Ansari X PRIZE Title Sponsors to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles |work=PR Newswire|accessdate=2006-08-27}}</ref>

===Spaceflight===

Ansari trained as a backup for [[Daisuke Enomoto]] for a [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]] flight to the International Space Station, through Space Adventures, Ltd.<ref name="Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space">{{cite web|url=http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Iranian_Woman_Blazes_Trail_Into_Space_999.html|title=Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space|work=[[Spacedaily.com]]|accessdate=2006-08-27 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060808063618/http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Iranian_Woman_Blazes_Trail_Into_Space_999.html  |archivedate = 2006-08-08}}</ref> On August 21, 2006, Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying the [[Soyuz TMA-9]] mission that was due to launch the following month. The next day Ansari was elevated to the prime crew.<ref name="replace">{{cite web|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20060822/53002090.html|title=Iranian-born American approved to replace Japanese space tourist|work=Novosti|accessdate=2006-08-22| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060905083059/http://en.rian.ru/world/20060822/53002090.html| archivedate= 5 September 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_advancer.html|title=NASA Expedition 14 Overview}}</ref>
[[File:Anousheh Ansari in the ISS.jpg|thumb|Ansari holds a plant grown in the [[Zvezda (ISS module)|Zvezda]] Service Module of the International Space Station.]]

Asked what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, Ansari said, "I hope to inspire everyone—especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men—to not give up their dreams and to pursue them... It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen."<ref name="Space.com interview with Anousheh Ansari">{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060915_ansari_qna.html|title=Interview with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist|accessdate=2006-09-19| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060920022453/http://space.com/missionlaunches/060915_ansari_qna.html| archivedate= 20 September 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The day before her departure, she was interviewed on Iran national television for the astronomy show ''Night's Sky''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2004/October/Ansari/index.html|title=Up, Up, and Away!}}</ref> The hosts wished her success and thanked her on behalf of Iranians. Ansari in return, thanked them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacescience.ir/eng-Anousheh_Ansari.htm|title=Full Coverage of Anousheh's journey to space}}</ref>

Ansari lifted off on the Soyuz TMA-9 mission with commander [[Mikhail Tyurin]] ([[Russian Federal Space Agency|RSA]]) and flight engineer [[Michael Lopez-Alegria]] ([[NASA]]) at 04:59 (UTC) on Monday September 18, 2006, from [[Baikonur]], Kazakhstan. Ansari became the fourth (and first female) [[space tourism|space tourist]]. Her contract did not allow for disclosure of the amount paid, but previous space tourists have paid in excess of $20 million USD. The space craft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday September 20, 2006, at 05:21 (UTC).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5355022.stm | title=Lift-off for woman space tourist | publisher=[[BBC News Online]] | date=2006-09-18 | accessdate = 2006-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5362944.stm | title=Space tourist, new crew board ISS | publisher=BBC News Online | date=2006-09-20| accessdate=2006-09-22}}</ref> Ansari landed safely aboard [[Soyuz TMA-8]] on September 29, 2006, at 01:13 UTC on the steppes of Kazakhstan (90 kilometers north of [[Arkalyk]]) with U.S. [[astronaut]] [[Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeffrey Williams]] and Russian cosmonaut [[Pavel Vinogradov]].<ref name="INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian">{{cite news |title=INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian |work=Yahoo |url=http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060916/3/2pzp7.html |accessdate=2006-09-18}}</ref> She was given red roses from an unidentified official, and a surprise kiss from her husband, Hamid.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition13/exp13_undocking.html | title=Space Station Crew Back on Earth | publisher=[[NASA]] | date=2006-09-28 | accessdate = 2006-09-30| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061003103933/http://www1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition13/exp13_undocking.html| archivedate= 3 October 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5390902.stm | title=Space tourist in Earth touchdown | publisher=BBC News Online | date=2006-09-29 | accessdate = 2006-09-30| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060929184831/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5390902.stm| archivedate= 29 September 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Rescuers moved them to [[Kustanai]] for welcome ceremony with helicopters.<ref>{{cite news |title=American female space tourist returns | publisher=[[The Detroit News]] | date=2006-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_objectid=17841909&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=space-triumph-prompts-new-line-in-underwear-name_page.html | title=Space triumph prompts new line in underwear | publisher=[[Western Mail (Wales)|icWales, The Western Mail]] | date=2006-09-29 | accessdate = 2006-09-30}}</ref>

During her eight day{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}<!-- need a source: this seems to conflict with the info just removed from the (old, astronaut-specific) infobox that said "|time = 10d 21h 04m |mission = [[Soyuz TMA-9]] / [[Soyuz TMA-8|TMA-8]] |insignia = [[File:Soyuz TMA-9 Logo.jpg|30px]]" --> stay on board the International Space Station, Ansari agreed to perform a series of experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency. She conducted four experiments,<ref name="IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS">{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQRH7LURE_index_0.html|title=IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS|accessdate=2006-09-22| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061106003343/http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQRH7LURE_index_0.html| archivedate= 6 November 2006 | deadurl= no}}</ref> including:
* Researching the mechanisms behind [[anemia]].
* How changes in muscles influence lower back pain.
* Consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.

She also became the first person to publish a [[weblog]] from space.

===Iranian flag controversy===
[[File:Anousheh Ansari space patch.jpg|thumb|Anousheh Ansari's official space flight patch, featuring both the flags of Iran (lower right) and the U.S. (lower left), the [[ISS]] icon, and the map of Iran marked in dark green on the Earth's surface.]]
Ansari intended to wear the [[U.S. flag]] on her spacesuit alongside a politically neutral version of the [[Flag of Iran|Iranian flag]], i.e. the simple 3-color flag with no government-specific emblem, to honor the two countries that have contributed to her life.<ref name= "Iranian flag in Space">{{cite news | first= West | last= Ender | url= http://www.persianstudents.org/archives/002273.html | title= Iranian flag in Space | publisher = Persian Students in the UK Weblog | date=2006-08-28 | accessdate=2007-01-07| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070107153512/http://www.persianstudents.org/archives/002273.html| archivedate= 7 January 2007 | deadurl= no}}</ref> A few U.S.-based media wrongly speculated that she was intending to wear the version of the Iranian flag that predated the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.<ref name= "U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space" />

At the insistence of the [[NASA]] and Russian officials, she did not wear the Iranian flag officially, but wore the Iranian flag colors instead and kept the Iranian flag on her official flight patch.<ref name="Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute">{{cite news | first=Shelly | last = Slater | url=http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060914_mo_womanspace.d4fdda8.html | title = Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute |publisher =  [[WFAA]] (online) | date=2006-09-14 | accessdate=2006-09-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061017194432/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060914_mo_womanspace.d4fdda8.html  |archivedate = 2006-10-17}}</ref> She and her husband said no political message was intended, despite the increasing tensions with United States and Iran relations, which had dominated world headlines in the weeks leading up to her launch. She noted that she had "plans to devote her mission to expanding a global consciousness she expected would be seeded with her first look at Earth from space".

===Reactions to Ansari's flight===

====Crewmates====
[[Michael Lopez-Alegria]], the Spanish-born NASA astronaut who flew on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on the return flight with Ansari, expressed his doubts to reporters before the flight: "I'm not a big fan personally of having those guys go visit the space station because I think the space station is still a place that is under construction, and not quite operational. I don't think it's ideal."<ref name="First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch">{{cite news |first= Ker | last = Than | url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060916_exp14_prelaunch.html| title=First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch | publisher=[[space.com]] | date =2006-09-16 | accessdate =2006-09-18}}</ref>

Lopez-Alegria later stated that he was skeptical of private tourists a few years ago, but now believes it is essential to the survival of the Russian space program which is important to the U.S. space program: "If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."<ref name="First female space tourist blasts off">{{cite news | first= Mike| last= Eckel |title= First female space tourist blasts off| publisher=Yahoo News | date= 2006-09-18}}</ref>

The same Associated Press story also quoted [[Mikhail Tyurin]] describing Ansari as "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade.

====Reactions in Iran====
[[File:Soyuz TMA-9 crew w ansari.jpg|thumb|Crew of Soyuz TMA-9: Astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (left), Anousheh Ansari (middle) and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Sept. 5, 2006]]
The flight was given significant coverage by [[Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting|state television]]. [[IRIB]] aired a live 1 hour interview with Anousheh in Aseman-e-Shab (Night Sky) live show. Anousheh was praised by newspapers such as ''Hambastegi'' and ''Jam-e-Jam Daily'', which published daily columns detailing the journey. The astronomy magazine ''NOJUM'' also published an exclusive interview of Pouria Nazemi with Anousheh before her trip, in which she discussed her vision for [[Private spaceflight|commercial spaceflight]]. ''NOJUM'' also organized and held gatherings when the [[ISS]] passed over Iran's cities. Shahram Yazdanpanah, made a special part about Anousheh's trip to space at Persian "Space Science" website and covered all the news of trip.<ref>http://www.spacescience.ir/Anousheh_Ansari.htm</ref>

===Interviews===
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[File:AnoushehAnsari photo.JPG|right|thumb|Anousheh Ansari in an interview from space]] -->
On September 22, 2006, she told reporters that she has no regrets and said "I am having a wonderful time here. It's been more than what I expected, and I am enjoying every single second of it. The entire experience has been wonderful up here."<ref name="savoring 'every single second'">{{cite news |title=First female space tourist savoring 'every single second' in orbit | publisher=AP | date=2006-09-22}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
Ansari has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region, and the [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans|Horatio Alger Award]]. While under her leadership, Telecom Technologies, Inc. earned recognition as one of [[Inc. magazine]]'s 500 fastest-growing companies and one of Deloitte & Touche’s Fast 500 technology companies. She was listed in [[40 under 40 (Fortune Magazine)|Fortune Magazine's "40 under 40"]] list in 2001 and honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

In 2009, she received the first [http://www.ncwit.org/work.awards.innovator.html Symons Innovator Award] given annually by [http://www.ncwit.org NCWIT] to honor successful women entrepreneurs in technology.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}

She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from George Mason University on December 20, 2012.

The Ansari family was recently{{When|date=July 2011}} honored with an [[Orbit Award]] by the [[National Space Society]] and [[Space Tourism Society]] for underwriting the Ansari X PRIZE.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

Anousheh Ansari participated as a speaker at the 2010 Honeywell Leadership Academy at [[United States Space Camp|Space Camp]] in Huntsville Alabama with [[Homer Hickam]].<ref name="Honeywell Leadership Guide">{{cite web|url=http://www.spacecamp.com/forms/2009HoneywellLeadershipGuide.pdf|title=2009HoneywellLeadershipGuide}}</ref>

In 2010, she was awarded the [[Ellis Island Medal of Honor]] in recognition of her humanitarian efforts.<ref name="A Tribute To The 2010 Ellis Island Medal Of Honor Recipients">{{cite web|url=http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/06/08/E1036-3_a-tribute-to-the-2010-ellis-island-medal-of-honor-/|title=A Tribute To The 2010 Ellis Island Medal Of Honor Recipients}}</ref>

In 2009, Ansari was featured in the documentary film ''Space Tourists'' by independent Swiss filmmaker [[Christian Frei]] about billionaires who paid to ride to the [[International Space Station]] aboard Russian spacecraft.<ref name="Space Tourists">{{cite web|url=http://www.space-tourists-film.com/de/home.php|title=Space Tourists}}</ref> The DVD of the film was released in 2011.

She served as the commencement speaker at and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from [[Utah Valley University]] on April 25, 2013.<ref name="First Iranian In Space To Speak At UVU’s 72nd Commencement Ceremony">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.uvu.edu/newsroom/2013/03/11/first-iranian-in-space-to-speak-at-uvus-72nd-commencement-ceremony/|title=First Iranian In Space To Speak At UVU’s 72nd Commencement Ceremony}}</ref>

In 2015, the [[National Space Society]] awarded Ansari the [[Space Pioneer Awards|Space Pioneer Award]] for her “Service to the Space Community.”<ref>{{cite web| publisher=National Space Society Blog |url=http://blog.nss.org/?p=4685|title=Anousheh Ansari Wins the National Space Society’s Space Pioneer Award for "Service to the Space Community" |accessdate=March 5, 2015}}</ref>

She has been an active member of the nonprofit [[Iranian American Women Foundation]] organization.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ansari|first1=Anousheh|title=Iranian American Women Foundation|url=http://www.iawfoundation.org/community/anousheh-ansari/profile/|website=Iranian American Women Foundation|accessdate=27 June 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of International Space Station visitors]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Category:Anousheh Ansari}}
* {{official website|http://www.anoushehansari.com/}}
* [http://spaceblog.xprize.org/ Anousheh Ansari Space Blog]
* [http://www.space-tourists-film.com/ Space Tourists, a documentary film from Christian Frei with Anousheh Ansari]
* [http://www.spacescience.ir/Anousheh_Ansari.htm Anousheh Ansari in SpaceScience.ir (in Persian)]
* {{C-SPAN|anoushehansari}}
* [http://ovimagazine.com/art/3857 Interview with Anousheh Ansari]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/archive/7968022.stm A 'passion' for space travel BBC/Click Video Interview with Anousheh Ansari]
{{Wikipedia|Anousheh Ansari}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Anousheh}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:George Mason University alumni]]
[[Category:George Washington University alumni]]
[[Category:Space tourists]]
[[Category:American engineers]]
[[Category:American memoirists]]
[[Category:American astronauts]]
[[Category:American philanthropists]]
[[Category:American people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:American writers of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:American Muslims]]
[[Category:Muslim cosmonauts]]
[[Category:People from Mashhad]]
[[Category:Iranian women engineers]]
[[Category:Iranian astronauts]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:Women astronauts]]
[[Category:Ansari X Prize]]
[[Category:WEF YGL honorees]]
[[Category:American women chief executives]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the United States]]