homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Iranian president wants to be the first Iranian man in space

After the successful test in which the Iranians sent a monkey into outer space and back safely, their goal of sending a man to the Moon by 2025 seems quite feasible. Ok, so some liked this, the US didn’t really like it but that’s a different story – but Iran’s space program is not really […]

Mihai Andrei
February 5, 2013 @ 4:58 am

share Share

After the successful test in which the Iranians sent a monkey into outer space and back safely, their goal of sending a man to the Moon by 2025 seems quite feasible.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves as he speaks during in a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah in Bint Jbeil Ok, so some liked this, the US didn’t really like it but that’s a different story – but Iran’s space program is not really something you can be indifferent too. Their nascent space program aims to send a man into space by 2020 and put an astronaut on the moon by 2025, and that has many people worrying.

However, things can only get more dubious as president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he wants to be his country’s first man in space, declaring:

”I’m ready to be the first Iranian to be sacrificed by the scientists of my country and go into space, even though I know there are a lot of candidates”, he declared,

It’s not clear if he was being serious, or if this was just a political maneuver to create an outburst support.

Iran successfully sent a monkey named “Pishgam,” or “Pioneer” in Farsi into outer space, where it traveled over 100 km before safely returning to Earth. The launch fueled concern among Western observers because the same technology used in space launches could be applied to launch a ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead. So what do you think? Should we fear Iran’s development, or should we embrace it is a remarkable scientific achievement?

share Share

Astronomers Just Found a Faint Speck That Might Be the Missing Ninth Planet

A new discovery could reshape the Solar System's edge.

Meet the Indian Teen Who Can Add 100 Numbers in 30 Second and Broke 6 Guinness World Records for Mental Math

The Indian teenager is officially the world's fastest "human calculator".

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Spotted Driving Across Mars From Space for the First Time

An orbiter captured Curiosity mid-drive on the Red Planet.

Japan Plans to Beam Solar Power from Space to Earth

The Sun never sets in space — and Japan has found a way to harness this unlimited energy.

Giant Planet Was Just Caught Falling Into Its Star and It Changes What We Thought About Planetary Death

A rare cosmic crime reveals a planet’s slow-motion death spiral into its star.

This Planet Is So Close to Its Star It Is Literally Falling Apart, Leaving a Comet-like Tail of Dust in Space

This dying planet sheds a “Mount Everest” of rock each day.

We Could One Day Power a Galactic Civilization with Spinning Black Holes

Could future civilizations plug into the spin of space-time itself?

Elon Musk could soon sell missile defense to the Pentagon like a Netflix subscription

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring missile attacks the gravest threat to America. It was the official greenlight for one of the most ambitious military undertakings in recent history: the so-called “Golden Dome.” Now, just months later, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two of its tech allies—Palantir and Anduril—have emerged as leading […]

Have scientists really found signs of alien life on K2-18b?

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. We're not quite there.

How a suitcase-sized NASA device could map shrinking aquifers from space

Next‑gen gravity maps could help track groundwater, ice loss, and magma.