WORDS OF WISDOM IN MONACO a bit inspired when I saw his adventure . And the South Pole , I went even before him , I was the first person from Monaco at the South Pole , one year before Prince Albert .
© Namira Salim
Namira Salim , Former Honorary Consul of Pakistan to Monaco with H . S . H . Prince Albert II , Sovereign Prince of Monaco , on the occasion of the inauguration of the Consulate of Pakistan to Monaco at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco . 29 March 2012 Намира Салим , бывший почетный консул Пакистана в Монако , и Его Светлость князь Альбер II на церемонии инаугурации консульства Пакистана в Монако , проходившей в Океанографическом музее 29 марта 2012 года .
for this initiative . We are going to build , between the American University and the University in Kenya , a small cube satellite and it will go to space with messages from different world leaders in it , to show how we can actually make space the new frontier for peace . I have the support of a very big multilateral organization and they have promised me that they will give me messages of peace from at least 50 prime ministers .
I ’ m looking at the moment to engage a high school or secondary school in Monaco , in order to teach the students how to build a cube satellite . I ’ ll be having some meetings with the government and trying to align one school as a partner from Monaco .
: Tell us about your adventures to the South and North Poles .
NS : When I joined the space flight initiative and it was getting delayed , I was afraid that maybe people were going to say , ‘ Oh she ’ s not going to space ’ and then I would be going back in a quandary . So I thought , ‘ Where can I go on earth , as far as possible , before breaking orbit ?’ It was the North Pole . I was the next person after Prince Albert to go to the North Pole from Monaco , and maybe I was
I discovered , at the South Pole , many adventurers who were mountaineers and they all told me ‘ Why don ’ t you climb Everest ?’ I was like ‘ Okay , I mean , that ’ s the third pole of the world . I ’ ll do it .’ Just as I was deciding to climb Everest , a friend of mine who ’ s in the founder Astronaut Club at Virgin Galactic , told me about the first historic Everest skydives in history , in 2008 . So I said , ‘ This is going to be quick and easy , let me just do this , nobody ’ s done this before from Asia , from Pakistan ’. I had never done skydiving . So I went and there were many problems . The jump program was delayed , there was one jumpers ’ crash , one plane crash , which killed I think 17 or 18 Swiss jumpers in one shot . There was like a late monsoon , there were black clouds , it was crazy . And every day on the drop zone , the clouds would come and we couldn ’ t jump . But I did a 10-day trek before , to acclimatize , it was the most beautiful experience I had , it was amazing . I did the acclimatization , then I was waiting at the drop zone and it was October 2008 . We had the financial market crash , half the people left . My mom was really angry with me , ‘ How can you put me through this , first you go to the North Pole and the South Pole .’ My mother was traditional , she did not like me doing all this . She was okay when she read the newspaper , though , she was very proud . Then she was like , ‘ No . You have to get married , you have to have children .’ She was calling me every day at the drop zone , she said , ‘ Don ’ t do this , it ’ s so dangerous .’ But it was the most amazing jump , it was so beautiful . It was like being a little fly coming down , I was that small in the process , because the Himalayas were so expansive under me .
: You were at the famous launch of the first Virgin Galactic flight , with Richard Branson on board . How was it ?
NS : I was on my way to Monaco when I got an email saying , ‘ you ’ re invited to attend Richard Branson ’ s launch in New Mexico ’ and I was expecting that he would go , because he had announced that he would like to go before Jeff Bezos . I ’ ve known Richard Branson since 2006 and I know his spirit , he has a fighting spirit , he ’ s a winner . And I knew that he would be able to make it to space before Jeff Bezos , not because it was a race ; we always say in the space industry that we want to be safe , we don ’ t want to race . Operational safety of the space ship is the most important thing . But he had promised that he was going to deliver the first private space-line in the world and I knew that he would . And when he took off in front of me , I was only concerned and praying for safety . It was not about , ‘ oh he ’ s going
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