Shun self-doubt, astronaut to Emirati women

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Shun self-doubt, astronaut to Emirati women
Delegates attend a session during the second day of Knowledge Summit at DWTC Dubai on Thursday.

Dubai - Stott said that females shouldn't "self-doubt", as it can discourage them from applying to be an astronaut.

By Sarwat Nasir

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Published: Thu 6 Dec 2018, 8:57 PM

Last updated: Thu 6 Dec 2018, 11:01 PM

A former Nasa astronaut is encouraging Emirati women to keep applying for the UAE Astronaut Programme and has insisted they "don't doubt" their possible success in this field.
Nicole Stott is a former female astronaut, who has been on three space missions, has carried out one spacewalk and was the first person to fly the robotic arm to capture the free flying HTV cargo vehicle. She was also the last person to fly on the US' Space Shuttle, which ended operations in 2011.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Knowledge Summit in Dubai, Stott said that females shouldn't "self-doubt", as it can discourage them from applying to be an astronaut. She spoke about her own lack of self-confidence when she was applying to be a space traveller, revealing that the only reason she was able to sign up was because of the encouragement she received.
The first two Emirati astronauts were selected this year and both are males. A total of 4,022 UAE nationals had applied to become astronauts and 34 per cent of them were women.
"Those females who applied, apply again," Stott insisted. "I hope those women will continue to do that and more will take that lead. I was very impressed with the fact that 40 per cent of the staff at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) are females and I think that would encourage other women around the world to apply as well."
Stott was at the summit to take part in a session where experts discussed the advantages of space exploration. Amer Al Sayegh, KhalifaSat project manager at the MBRSC; Mishaal Ashemimry, founder of Mishaal Aerospace; and Eisa Al Shamsi, executive vice-president of YahSat also took part in the discussion. Stott said she believes that the UAE is on the "right track" because of its long time commitment to space.
"Getting to know the panelists today, I can see there is a long-term commitment to this. It's not just 'oh we're going to send an astronaut to space' and be done with it. I think that was very clearly said today. If there's one thing that can ensure your success in space exploration it is to look beyond the immediate gratification of doing one thing and it builds to the future," she said.
Meanwhile, Al Sayegh said: "For the UAE, it's not a one-time thing. We would like to have a sustainable Astronaut Programme, where we will send the first one but also multiple ones to support very long-term strategic goals - one of them will be the Mars 2117."
On the sidelines, Stott also touched on the recent launch failure of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. As reported by Khaleej Times this week, the failure caused the launch dates for the upcoming missions to be changed. The Emirati astronaut was meant to go on the Soyuz MS-12 mission on April 5. However, Nasa and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos announced that the crew from the failed mission will launch from the Soyuz MS-12 instead on February 28. However, Stott believes in situations such as the missions do get re-planned and new launch dates are given.
She added: "What we witnessed in October was the recovery of a failure that did what exactly it was supposed to do - it was designed to bring those crew members back alive and it did that. They got off that vehicle, they're healthy and good. But, still, that's not the way you want it to go. I think we demonstrated that there is the technology for us to survive something like that."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com


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