Sara Sabry Keynote Speaker

  • The first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first woman from the African continent to go to space
  • Founder and Executive Director of non-profit, Deep Space Initiative (DSI), which increases accessibility and opportunity of deep space exploration for all Humankind
  • Speaker on space travel and technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and overcoming obstacles

Sara Sabry's Biography

Sara Sabry is the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first woman from the African continent to go to space. She is a speaker on space travel and technology, entrepreneurship and leadership, as well as overcoming obstacles, and how travelling in space has changed her perspective on life.

Sara was selected by Space for Humanity for her leadership experience and potential for global impact among thousands of qualified applicants around the world. She flew to space on Blue Origin’s 6th human spaceflight on August 4th 2022 on their New Shepard rocket (NS-22). The goal of the mission was to experience the Overview Effect, and bring this new perspective to benefit life on Earth. 

Sara is the Founder and Executive Director of Deep Space Initiative (DSI), a non-profit company that aims to increase accessibility and opportunity in the space field while enabling deep space exploration for all Humankind. DSI’s mission is to help erase the borders on the map by providing opportunities in research and education that are open to all audiences, no matter their nationalities or resources. 

Sara is currently pursuing her PhD in Aerospace Sciences at The University of North Dakota and is working at their NASA-funded Human Spaceflight lab. Her research focuses on engineering the next generation of planetary spacesuits, and she has aspirations of obtaining her private pilot license along the way. She became Egypt’s first female Analog Astronaut in 2021 after completing a 2-week moon mission simulation at Lunares in Poland as the crew medical officer, and in 2022 Sara successfully completed the IIAS astronaut training program with Project PoSSUM – a suborbital research qualification program – making her the first female Egyptian trained to do research in space. She received her Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s degree in 2016 from the American University in Cairo, with a concentration in Mechatronics, as well as minors in Biology, Chemistry and PreMed. She received her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2020 from Politecnico Di Milano in Italy. Sara’s wide range of experiences span from Mechatronics and Robotic Surgery, to Stem Cell Development and Bioastronautics. After her studies, Sara worked at a Tech Startup in Berlin as the deputy CTO and solutions engineering focusing on Augmented Reality mobile applications.

Sara is passionate about increasing representation of Egyptians, especially women, in the space field, and hopes to inspire younger generations to dream bigger. As part of her efforts, she co-founded the Space Ambassador Program with the Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA), and is the first Astronaut Health & Performance Space Ambassador. Sara continues to work with EgSA on a number of exciting projects, including building the first analog research station in Africa. She was the team lead for the Transportation on the Moon group within the Lunar Commerce & Economics of the Moon Village Association (MVA), a PoliSpace external advisor, an independent researcher with Biofrequency Analytics, and a Human Factors teaching associate at Mars University. 

Prior to her work in the space industry, Sara was a Yoga instructor and Crossfit coach during her undergraduate studies, and spent some time practicing Mixed Martial Arts. In 2016 she traveled around Africa volunteering in different schools and organizations, including a Women Empowerment Center in Uganda, and a primary school in South Africa. As a firm believer in protecting our oceans, Sara is an Advanced Open Water Certified diver and spent 6 weeks in Madagascar as a marine conservationist.

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Sara Sabry's Speaking Topics

  • How I Used Life Challenges to Push me Forward, and How You Can Too

As an Egyptian woman, I have always been told that engineering would be "too hard" for me, that I would never have any opportunities in my country if I chose to pursue the biomedical field, that being interested in the space field is a waste of time, and that it wouldn't matter anyway since I will have a "husband" to lean on in the future. I am lucky to have been strong enough not to listen, and have actually used this to push me forward. My mission in life is to help others who have been told the same negative comments be able to take this energy, internalise it, and use it to drive them forward.

  • Journey to Space - Anything is possible if you believe it

Why and how I got selected to go to space, and all the details of the experience: astronaut training, mental preparation, sitting on a rocket, seeing Earth from space, capsule touchdown, and integrating into a new reality.

  • The Overview Effect

The cognitive shift in perspective that astronauts experience while looking at Earth from space, how that changes you, and how it becomes a catalyst for making a difference on Earth. My overview effect was a very special one - as I looked at the blackness of the universe, I felt this strong connection with all of it, and everything made different sense. After coming back to Earth, I have felt this overwhelming sense of obligation to address some of the problems humanity is facing - I would also share my personal projects that could potentially have a significant impact on my country and the world.

  • Bioastronautics Research and Spacesuits

The effects of being in deep space on the human body, and what we still need to do to be able to handle long duration space missions. Since my current PhD is on planetary spacesuits, I can explain the general design requirements, some of the problems with current spacesuits, what we need to do, and what I plan on doing.

  • Space Technologies used on Earth

Space research touches all of our lives on a daily basis, but there is a disconnect between space and Earth - an overview of the technologies that have been primarily designed for space applications that have been used on Earth to save lives.

  • Entrepreneurship

Most people see issues in the world, and think that someone else will probably take care of it. If we all have this mindset, problems on Earth that could often be resolved with simple solutions often go unaddressed. How to take the first step into jumping into the unknown, overcoming the imposter syndrome, and doing what needs to be done even if it feels like you don't know what you are doing - the power of learning by doing. I explain how my company Deep Space Initiative is a simple solution to a very big problem. My past experiences with starting businesses (healthy bakery, coconut butter factory) and how they followed the same concept, and my newest project in Healthcare could save millions of lives.

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Videos of Sara Sabry

Misk Global Forum 2022: Purposeful Change
Misk Global Forum 2022: Purposeful Change
Dig Deeper E15 | Taking Egypt to Space with Sara Sabry | Womena
Dig Deeper E15 | Taking Egypt to Space with Sara Sabry | Womena
Sara Sabry - Shaping the Future of Deep Space Missions while Helping Life on Earth | Analog Astronaut
Sara Sabry - Shaping the Future of Deep Space Missions while Helping Life on Earth | Analog Astronaut
Ms. Sara Sabry: FIRST African Astronaut in Space and Founder & CEO of Deep Space Initiative | Ignited Thinkers
Ms. Sara Sabry: FIRST African Astronaut in Space and Founder & CEO of Deep Space Initiative | Ignited Thinkers
FIRST ARAB, EGYPTIAN AND AFRICAN WOMAN TO GO TO SPACE - Sara Sabry | Savvy Talk Podcast | Digital and Savvy
FIRST ARAB, EGYPTIAN AND AFRICAN WOMAN TO GO TO SPACE - Sara Sabry | Savvy Talk Podcast | Digital and Savvy

Articles, Media & Podcasts

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