You are going to read an article about the first female space tourist. Render the plot of the text in English within 5-7 sentences in the form of annotative translation.

‘When I was a child, space was all I dreamt and talked about. My mum and dad thought it was just a phase, but as I grew up I became fascinated by science, which just reinforced my passion. I never doubted that one day I’d be an astronaut.’ As an adult, Anousheh left her native Iran, settled in the USA and started a telecommunications company. The company was so successful that she was eventually able to sell it for $750 million. ‘The first thing that crossed my mind was that my life’s goal might now be within reach and I signed up to become the first female private space explorer at a cost of around $20 million.’

Of course, becoming a space tourist is not simply a matter of paying and picking up your ticket at the check-in desk; there is a rigorous six-month training program, which for Anousheh did not present too many difficulties. There was another obstacle to overcome, however, that wasn’t entirely anticipated. ‘During my training, my husband came a few times, but still, it’s not the same because ever since we got married, over 15 years ago, we’ve spent almost every day together.’

Ansari blasted off on September 18 along with a NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. It doesn’t take long to achieve orbit, around 17 minutes, and that’s when she got her first sight of the Earth: ‘Looking at it from up there, you can’t see any borders or any differences between races. All you see is one planet; one place that all of us have to take care of if we want to be able to live on it for a long time. You look at your safe haven on Earth and then you turn around, see the blackness of the universe and realize that you have nowhere else to go, at least not for a while.’

Life on a space station is not just about enjoying the view, however. Each member of a space crew, tourist or not, is expected to carry out vital experiments on board. For Anousheh, this meant working on lower back pain in astronauts and cosmonauts and studying tiny life forms that can carry diseases on board the station. Many people might have objected to this ‘working holiday’, but Anousheh loved it. ‘I enjoyed being able to offer something to the life of the station,’ she says.

Anousheh continually gets asked about the challenges she faced on board. To wash her hair, for example, she had to make a huge ‘water bubble’ and put it over her head. At the slightest sudden movement, little bits of water would escape and float away. In fact, there were many amusing situations caused by the lack of gravity. ‘The guys liked to tease me. They’d ask me to pass the bread and when I handed it to them, rather than floating it, they’d say I’d taken all the fun out of it. After a while I got used to all this, though, and I felt so at home that in the end it was hard to go back to normality.’

Anousheh is proud of her status as the first female space tourist and intends to use her fame to raise awareness about space projects and to inspire women all over the world. The title ‘space tourist’ is, however, not one she particularly appreciates. She explains: ‘I think if it is to be compared to an experiment or an experience on Earth, it is probably closer to an expedition to Antarctica or climbing Mount Everest than to just another touristy trip somewhere.’

The journey back to Earth was physically and emotionally exhausting for Anousheh. ‘The G-force while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere was equivalent to four times my weight,’ she says. ‘But going into space was the most freeing experience I’ve ever had. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If I could take my husband with me, I’d be tempted to never come back!’