Egyptian engineer Sara Sabry stands stock still as her spacesuit is adjusted, running through an extensive checklist of her mission to learn how to collect a lunar surface sample.
But she isn't on the moon or even the International Space Station; she is at a repurposed nuclear bunker in Poland.
Sabry is Egypt's first female analog astronaut.
Analog missions are essentially simulations conducted on Earth at locations that have physical similarities to the extreme conditions that space travellers will have to contend with on their journeys off-planet.
They are a kind of rehearsal that allows space agencies to test out crisis management scenarios, as well as give new kinds of equipment a dry run before using them on space missions.
Earning her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the American University in Cairo, where she also finished a pre-med minor, Sabry went on to achieve a master’s in biomedical engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 2020. Her master's was mainly focused on the use of robotics and artificial intelligence in surgery.
This year, Sabry will start a PhD programme in aerospace sciences in the US where her focus will be on space suit design.
“My transition from the biomedical and mechanical engineering fields into aerospace was actually really smooth,” Sabry, 28, tells The National. “What many people don’t know is that a background in medicine and engineering allows one to work in a variety of fields. And when you consider how much the aerospace industry has grown during the past decades, a wide range of expertise now has a role to play in it.”
In 2021, Sabry embarked on her first analog mission, which she attended with five other people at a nuclear bunker just outside the small Polish city Pila. Sabry's group was inside the facility for three weeks, she tells The National from her home in Berlin.
To simulate a mission to the moon accurately, the group had no access to sunlight, food that isn’t freeze-dried or caffeine. They also had minimal contact with the outside world.
“The reason we were kept out of the sun is because when astronauts go on a moon mission, one of their top priorities is to protect themselves from radiation,” Sabry says. “During the simulation, we got to do everything that an astronaut would do, so we put on spacesuits and conducted moon walks to collect surface samples and so on.”
The bunker where the mission took place was designed by experienced space architects who made it in the image of housing units off-planet, explains Sabry. The group of astronauts were given a strict schedule to follow, including an hour of vigorous exercise every day. This is mandatory for every astronaut working off-planet.
“When an astronaut is exposed to either low gravity or micro-gravity, which often happens when they are in transit between Earth and their destination off-planet, they lose bone density because of the decreased load on their bones,” Sabry explains. “Muscle atrophy is also a big issue, so to mitigate this, astronauts on the International Space Station have to do two hours of exercise every day.”
While they might not have the lustre of off-planet space missions, analog voyages are an invaluable part of the aerospace industry, explains Sabry. She adds that taking part in the mission and the first-hand experience she gained would be invaluable in her plans to design spacesuits and in any aerospace research missions that she joins.
“When you understand the human body’s needs in that kind of environment, it changes the way you approach the whole thing,” she adds.
Sabry remains hopeful that she will one day go to space, but says that existing laws that mandate that people can take part in off-planet missions only organised by agencies in their home nations have thus far been a hindrance.
Though the Egyptian Space Agency is nascent and its activities limited, Sabry says it is progressing at a decent rate. She says she is excited about the opportunities it plans to afford Egyptians who want to enter the aerospace field.
The aerospace industry is one of the world’s more male-dominated industries, with only 11.2 per cent of the US's aerospace engineers women. Furthermore, Arab involvement in the sector is also markedly low, which has made Sabry’s journey not without its obstacles.
Despite those challenges, Sabry also recognises that her having been fortunate enough to receive a top-notch education gave her leg-up with achieving her success. Now she wants to open up the industry to other people, even if they haven't been as fortunate.
Her Deep Space Initiative, a non-profit company that works on providing more opportunities in aerospace for applicants anywhere in the world, gives participants the chance to conduct research on space-related topics. Those involved can also present their ideas to some of aerospace’s biggest names, many of whom Sabry met and formed relationships with over her career.
“We are essentially trying to make space research more accessible to everyone and to provide more equitable opportunity in the field,” says Sabry. “Those who join the programme will have the opportunity of studying fields that are only really available in the West and be exposed to knowledge they might have never had access to.”
As part of the community outreach part of her project, Sabry will collaborate with the Egyptian Space Agency on a variety of activities in the near future.
“My efforts are focused on erasing the nationality-based differences in the aerospace field, which are ridiculous in my opinion,” says Sabry. “It’s amazing that we continue to bar people from entering fields that could benefit from their involvement because of some lines on a map drawn by some old men centuries ago.”
Female firsts in space - in pictures:
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The%20specs
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McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Bahrain%20GP
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Mountain%20Boy
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Spec%20sheet
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km