OK: we could all think of things we’d rather do with twenty million dollars — that is, rather than spend it on a trip to the International Space Station. Still, with everything that’s going on, it would be a shame to dismiss the feel-good story of the week — the story of Anousheh Ansari, the woman, born in Iran, now an American, who this week achieved her girlhood dream of flying into space. Having dropped her twenty million dollar token in the correct slot, and after the obligatory training, she was launched aboard a Russian Soyuz and docked earlier today with the ISS.

She must have been a sight for sore eyes.

In an interview at Space.com, she talks about some of the whys and wherefores of the whole thing.

SPACE.com: Do you consider yourself a role model for Iranian women and women in general?

AA: Well I certainly hope to be. In my work and everything that I have always done, I have tried to be an example.

I hope to inspire everyone—especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men—to not give up their dreams and to pursue them.

It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen. Looking back at my life, I’m hoping that I could give them a positive example how that could happen.

She also has a blog.

Reaction?

From the Khaleej Times in the United Arab Emirates, a columnist who calls her “a shining example for the Muslim world.”

On the other hand, an Iranian daily newspaper is reported to have attacked the coverage of the “rich Iranian woman” and warned that she creates a bad role model for Iranian children.

See what I mean? Feel-good story of the week.

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