Interview from outer space

Stanford Iranian Studies students interviewed NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, who is currently on a mission aboard the International Space Station.

While floating in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli reflected on the awe-inspiring experience of outer space.

“Looking at the Earth from this view is one of the most incredible things – probably the most incredible thing – I’ve experienced in my life,” Moghbeli said during a live video Q&A on Wednesday, Nov. 29, with Stanford Iranian Studies students.

The discussion was coordinated by the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies and NASA. Moghbeli, who is Iranian American, launched to the ISS as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on Aug. 26, 2023, and successfully docked on Aug. 27, 2023. It is her first space flight.

During the Q&A event, she reflected on the challenges of traveling to outer space. “It’s extremely difficult, especially when it comes to human exploration, to keep people living and working in this harsh environment of space,” she said.

Professor Abbas Milani is director of the Iranian Studies Program. He said the idea for the Q&A event came from Hamid Moghadam, who has served on Stanford’s Board of Trustees for many years, and was coordinated by the efforts of Iranian Studies Program Associate Director Roma Parhad and colleagues.

“A conversation between a group of brilliant Iranian American Stanford students and a pioneering Iranian American woman astronaut, a conversation that includes everything from Persian cuisine and the health of our planet to the vagaries of identity and the value of role models who reflect the complicated, beautiful tapestry of our humanity, is a moment to celebrate not just for Stanford but for all of us in these hard times,” Milani told Stanford Report.

Moghbeli also spoke about her career path to becoming an astronaut, the people who inspired her along the way, and the principles of Iranian culture that she integrates into her daily life. She also offered advice to young people pursuing their goals.

Moghbeli has been interested in space exploration since she was a child. She studied aerospace engineering with information technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before earning a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.