<p>After becoming the first Pakistani to go to both North and South Pole, and becoming the first South Asian to skydive over Mount Everest, 37-year-old Namira Salim is all set to become the first Pakistani to go into space, and hopes to make peace there.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“I love my title ‘first Pakistani astronaut’, it’s like being a very special princess of the country. Maybe nicer than being a princess,” The Dawn quoted Salim, as saying. Salim’s venture, however, comes with a heavy price tag. Salim, in her bid to fulfill her childhood dream, has invested a whopping $200,000 to sign up with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism project, slated for take off next year. <br /><br />Salim, who is currently based in Monaco, funded her trip with support from her family, who run a heavy construction equipment firm in the UAE. Salim said the money she has paid is an investment in a commercial industry that will one day replace government space agencies and enable researchers, satellites, and tourists, to go up at a fraction of the current cost. She also believes space travel can eventually play a role in world peace.<br />“We hope one day politicians could be taken up in space,” she said. <br /></p>
<p>After becoming the first Pakistani to go to both North and South Pole, and becoming the first South Asian to skydive over Mount Everest, 37-year-old Namira Salim is all set to become the first Pakistani to go into space, and hopes to make peace there.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“I love my title ‘first Pakistani astronaut’, it’s like being a very special princess of the country. Maybe nicer than being a princess,” The Dawn quoted Salim, as saying. Salim’s venture, however, comes with a heavy price tag. Salim, in her bid to fulfill her childhood dream, has invested a whopping $200,000 to sign up with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism project, slated for take off next year. <br /><br />Salim, who is currently based in Monaco, funded her trip with support from her family, who run a heavy construction equipment firm in the UAE. Salim said the money she has paid is an investment in a commercial industry that will one day replace government space agencies and enable researchers, satellites, and tourists, to go up at a fraction of the current cost. She also believes space travel can eventually play a role in world peace.<br />“We hope one day politicians could be taken up in space,” she said. <br /></p>