NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli became the first Kurdish woman who left the Earth for space on Saturday’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Moghbeli is the commander of the Crew-7 mission, accompanied by Danish astronaut Andreas Morgensen, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the crew arrived at the ISS on Sunday. They will spend six months in orbit.
Moghbeli’s parents left Iranian Kurdish province of Mahabad after the 1979 Islamic revolution, as did up to 1.5 million of their compatriots. The family first sought refuge in Germany, and then settled in the United States. The 40 year old mother of twin girls was born in Bad Nauheim, West Germany, and spent her childhood in Baldwin, New York. She has served in the US Navy and Marine Corps.
A yearbook photo from age 11 shows Moghbeli wearing a homemade space suit. “I always knew I wanted to be an astronaut,” she told CBS in an interview. “We as humans can’t help but explore.”
“Any time we’re adding diversity to who is flying in space, I think we’re opening the door for future generations, for more people to believe they can do this as well,” she said in an earlier interview.
