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On 18 September a Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, headed for the International Space Station. On board was Anousheh Ansari, the first woman in history to buy a ticket to space. Ansari signed up with space tourism company Space Adventures and was slotted as a stand-in for Daisuke Enomoto, a space explorer from Japan. Just weeks before lift-off, Enomoto was disqualified on medical grounds and Ansari received news that she would be going to space, fulfilling a lifelong dream first held as a child in Iran. Now she has become the first space visitor of Iranian descent and hopes to serve as a space ambassador to the world, promoting public enthusiasm for space exploration. Back on Earth, Kelly Young talks with Ansari about her eight-day stint aboard the ISS.

First of all, welcome back to Earth.

Thank you. I鈥檓 feeling good, I think I鈥檓 back to my normal self now.

Was it an emotional experience for you? I read somewhere that you teared up.

Yes, I teared up a lot while I was up there. When you cry, it sort of sticks there and becomes this big water bubble over your eyes so you need to have something to clean it. I was really worried on the launch. I told my flight surgeon, Shannon, 鈥淚 need some Kleenex in my spacesuit because I know I will get so emotional I will start crying on the launch pad. Then when I close the helmet I can鈥檛 clean my eyes. What do I do?鈥� This was a big concern: what if I cry when the helmet is closed? I can鈥檛 see. They were like, 鈥淯h, that would be a problem. Try not to cry.鈥�

That鈥檚 very helpful!

Fortunately, I didn鈥檛 cry during the time that the helmet was closed. But I did cry when I saw Earth for the first time. At that time I had the helmet open so I was able to dry my eyes. Shannon did put tissue in my pocket so I would have it when I needed it.

Growing up, was there a moment when you knew you wanted to go into space?

Ever since I can remember it was a passion in my heart. The mysteries of the universe, always I was drawn to it: stargazing, looking up to the night skies and wondering what it is like up there, what else is out there. Going into space was something I always wanted to do.

Has space flight changed your perspective on life?

It鈥檚 hard to put into words. I did my best to write about it, but everything I wrote didn鈥檛 do it justice. It changes your point of view about everything 鈥� the way you live your life, the way you look at planet Earth, the way you would think about your part, your contributions to life on Earth. Talking to the rest of the astronauts and cosmonauts, they find it the same way. I think it has become a guiding light for them.

You go up there thinking, I鈥檓 an American or I鈥檓 an Iranian, I live here or I work there. But then you go up there, and none of those things seem important any more. You see one planet. You see how small and fragile it is against the background of the universe. And you tell yourself, wow, this is my home, not Texas or Houston or Dallas. It affects your behaviour 鈥� you can鈥檛 help it. That鈥檚 why I think it鈥檚 important for more and more people to fly to space.

To see a more unified world?

Exactly. That鈥檚 why I was trying to recruit some of the astronauts to become politicians. I said, 鈥淵ou guys would be the best world leaders. You share this vision.鈥� Up there on the ISS, people from different cultures and different backgrounds live together in really close quarters with a lot of challenges and very hard work schedules. They get along so well. They become lifelong friends. They鈥檝e found the secret recipe for how people can work and live together, be understanding of each other鈥檚 needs and backgrounds, and live together peacefully. If they can take that secret recipe and teach it to the world, maybe we鈥檒l have a peaceful Earth.

What has been the reaction of the Iranian government and people to your trip?

All around it鈥檚 been very, very positive. They鈥檙e just so happy to hear an Iranian-American making positive news, not the usual negativity. They tell me they can hold their heads a little higher. I think it鈥檚 the one thing in recent history that鈥檚 been unifying among Iranians. And I receive tons of messages from young Iranian girls saying that they share my dream about going to space and that now they have hope and are more determined in pursuing their dreams, that I鈥檝e been an inspiration to them. It is wonderful to hear that.

What was the funniest moment you had up there?

Washing my hair was hilarious. There were a lot of funny things. I was showing my videos to my brother-in-law and he was rolling on the floor laughing. Just moving around the first few days, I was banging into walls and things. People had fun with me. Then they played a joke on me. Jeff Williams told me they had a special place in the space station for the newcomers. They put me in the middle of the American node, which is very big. They put me in the middle where you can鈥檛 reach anything, so basically I was stuck there. Eventually I was able to reach something a little bit and push against something. They had a good laugh.

What do you foresee for the future of personal space flight?

I think we have a lot of exciting years ahead of us. Right now the Soyuz programme is the only option available for orbital flight, and the only destination is the ISS, but as the station grows to a crew of six there will be fewer seats available for commercial passengers. So it鈥檚 important for us to start thinking about alternatives.

You can see how many entrepreneurs have begun building new spaceships of the future. It鈥檚 a flourishing industry and it can take many different shapes and directions, but any direction will be good because I think the space industry has been really stagnant for the past 40 years. I hope to see more innovation. I hope to see the young boys and girls out there today become the engineers of tomorrow to build new propulsion systems for orbital flights and make them more affordable for everyone to do it.

I definitely will continue my work with the X Prize Foundation. We鈥檙e looking at different options for future prizes that will help this industry grow and flourish. I will be doing a lot of educational work to get more people interested and involved. I鈥檓 always looking for ways to be part of this growing movement.

Would you make a second trip?

Absolutely. I was ready to go back the moment I landed. I鈥檇 like to try some sub-orbital flights soon. In the next couple of years I think we will see commercial sub-orbital flights and I want to be on some of them. I鈥檇 like to help promote more competition 鈥� that way the prices will come down.

I totally enjoyed every second of my whole experience with Soyuz, from the moment I started training. It wasn鈥檛 just the flight. The whole experience, the totality of it, the people I met, the things I learned 鈥� it鈥檚 been wonderful. I would definitely do it again. I told my husband I鈥檝e become a space junkie now and I need a space fix every once in a while.