Anousheh Returns to Earth

Anousheh Ansari and the crew of ISS Expedition 13 landed safely in Kazakhstan last night. Along with many people around the world, I have really enjoyed reading her blog entries and viewing the couple of videos she made in the last ten days or so. I also read some of the many comments on her blog. She really connected with people, many of whom I assume had no great interest in space exploration before, but who somehow felt that Anousheh's flight and her informal sharing of it through her blog made the experience of space seem real and accessible to ordinary people. It certainly did for me, even though I have read many professional astronauts' accounts of their experiences. I believe this is a really valuable contribution to the world made by this enthusiastic Iranian-American woman.