Not many people can legitimately claim the title of “professional adventurer,” but prospective astronaut and Pakistani artist Namira Salim is blazing trails. Born into a conservative family, Salim has yearned to explore space since she was a child.
“It was a spiritual thing for me because I’m a very spiritual person. When I look at the stars I feel that there’s a spiritual connection and there’s some higher force, a divine force. I feel a connection and I feel a pull as if something is calling me to go out there. I feel that that is the final destination, in the stars, we will all return to the stars one day,” she said in a January 2022 interview with Hello Monaco.
Salim, who holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University, is the only Pakistani among the first 100 aspiring space tourists to buy a ticket for Virgin Galactic's future commercial space liner. The government of Pakistan has recognized her as the First Pakistani Astronaut. She joined Virgin Galactic's Founder Astronaut Club in 2006 and completed Virgin's two-day Sub-Orbital Spaceflight Training at the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center, in the world's most high-performance centrifuge, the STS-400.
While awaiting her flight, she has claimed the title of the first Pakistani to have reached both the North Pole and the South Pole, in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Also in 2008, Salim participated in the "First Everest Skydive 2008” as the first Asian to tandem skydive Mount Everest from an altitude of 29,500 feet. She landed at Syangboche Airport, the highest drop zone in the world. She was awarded the “Medal of Excellence” by the President of Pakistan in 2011 for her achievement in sport.
Salim is also the Founder of Space Trust, a non-profit initiative that promotes space as the new frontier for peace. Its 2015 inaugural event was an interactive exhibition and conference held in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco
Salim has served as Honorary Ambassador of Tourism for Pakistan and as First Honorary Consul of Pakistan to Monaco. She currently serves on the Henley & Partners’ Board of Advisors and its Global Citizen Award Committee.