Namira Salim is a Pakistani adventurer and artist who rose to fame after becoming the first Pakistani to travel in space.
Belonging to a Pakistani family who has made their home in Southern France, Namira Salim is the first Pakistani woman to travel into space.
In 2006, the Pakistani government recognized her as the country’s “First Pakistani Astronaut.”
Namira Salim Educational Background
Namira completed her intermediate in Karachi and then went on to Hofstra University to get her bachelor’s degree in business administration.
She also holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Colombia.
In 2007, she completed her training at the NASTAR Center in the United States and presented former President Musharraf with a Spaceflight Training Certificate.
Her father is from Shiekhupura, Punjab, while her mother was born in Delhi. Her father’s business is managed by her twin brothers.
Namira Saleem: The First Pakistani in Space
From the time she was a child, she aspired to be an astronaut. She said that space had shaped her DNA and that she would produce art influenced by the night and stars.
Namira was 14 when she received her first telescope, and two years later she joined the newly founded astronomy society of Karachi.
Namira was the group’s first female member. They used to have sky-gazing parties, according to her.
As a college student, she continued to participate in activities linked to space. She was first introduced to her areas of interest around 2005.
She learned about Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic – the spaceflight firm of the Virgin Group that produces commercial aircraft as well as space tourism flights.
Namira Saleem: The First Pakistani Astronaut
Namira joined Virgin Galactic’s Founder Astronaut Club in 2006. Out of 44000 applicants, she was chosen as one of 100 space travelers – and became the first astronaut of Pakistan. But that wasn’t the end of her adventures!
After being named a professional astronaut by the Pakistani government, she spent two years conquering the south and north poles and then went on to become the first Asian skydiver by skydiving from the summit of Mount Everest.
She was the first Pakistani and first woman from Monaco and the United Arab Emirates (her family’s base) to reach the North and South Poles in 2007/08, as well as the first Asian to jump (tandem) over Mount Everest during the historic First Everest Skydives in 2008.
Namira has stayed devoted to Virgin Galactic since her first connection with the company.
When Virgin Galactic collapsed in 2014, she stayed faithful to the firm and was only female founder to appear in live programs of British Broadcast and print media.
She is a strong supporter of private spaceflight, the new era of space exploration, and peaceful uses of space.
Photo By: SpaceTrustNamira Saleem Space Trust
Namira Saleem is Space Trust’s Founder and Chairperson. She is known across the globe as the first future Space Tourist from South Asia and Monaco to travel to space on Virgin Galactic, the world’s first private space line.
As one of the early Founders of Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Virgin Group, personally introduced Namira to the international press in Dubai in 2006.
This launch, which was intended to attract an investor for Virgin Galactic, resulted in Virgin securing its largest stakeholder, valued at $380 million.
Namira has hosted official peace-themed exhibitions at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the UNESCO Executive Board, and UNESCO’s OIC Day in Paris, as well as events under the patronage of Monaco and Dubai royalty.
She has served as Pakistan’s Honourary Tourism Ambassador and First Honourary Consul in Monaco, where she helped to establish diplomatic ties between the two nations in 2009.
Since 1997, she has been based in the Principality of Monaco. In 2011, the President of Pakistan awarded Namira the “Medal of Excellence.”
She is a contributing author of a book titled Commercialization of Space: Opportunities and Challenges. In 2014, it was released. She’s also working on a second book, which will tell her personal story.
