Bloggers in Space

WebKnowHow
Wednesday, September 13, 2006; 02:34 AM

The X PRIZE Foundation website at www.xprize.org will host the first-ever blog from space during Anousheh Ansari's historic flight to the International Space Station. The webpage was designed by the X PRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit prize institute in partnership with Prodea Systems. Ansari is using her adventure as an opportunity to give everyone a unique web experience that will allow them to interact with the first female private space explorer throughout the flight.

"My ultimate goal is to bring this experience and the ability to fly to space to more and more people and to inspire young woman and men to go into the fields related to space," said Anousheh Ansari during a recent interview from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. "I hope that thousands of individuals from around the world will visit the X PRIZE site to learn what its like to fly into orbit."

In addition to the first-ever blog from space, visitors will also read Ansari's life story as well as watch exclusive video and interviews from her training, preflight activities, launch and landing. Visitors will also have exclusive access to the first episodes of the X PRIZE Foundation Futurecast. This new podcast will feature visionaries and entrepreneurs from around the globe to talk about what the future holds for us. The first episodes, which can be found on the X PRIZE Foundation website and Apple's iTunes podcast directory, will be the first podcast from space.

An active proponent of world-changing technologies, Anousheh Ansari has been immersed in the space industry for years. Anousheh along with Amir Ansari, her brother-in-law, and co-founder and chief technical officer of Prodea Systems, provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X PRIZE, a $10 million cash prize awarded to Burt Rutan in 2004, for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. 

"The X PRIZE Foundation is very proud to host Anousheh's blog. We are a 21st century organization pushing the boundaries of technology," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE. "We thought blogging from space was the proper use of technology to reach today's youth. We hope millions will visit our website and learn about Anousheh's mission as well as the X PRIZE Cup in New Mexico, and our future X PRIZES for genome sequencing and hyper fuel-efficient automobiles."

On Monday September 18, 2006 Ansari is scheduled to blast off in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, part of a crew-exchange flight to the International Space Station. Her journey will last for 10 days and will include a two day trip to the International Space Station on the Soyuz as well as numerous experiments and activities that she will film in order to create education programs upon landing.