Katrin Fidencio

(Recently back to US from Delhi, India)

Biratnagar/San Diego: As humanity reaches for the stars with renewed vigor, Jessica Meir, the acclaimed US space traveler, is one of the leading astronauts at the forefront of our cosmic ambitions.

Born in Maine to a Swedish mother and an Israeli-Jewish father, Meir has been enamored with space from a young age and has been involved with NASA for nearly two decades.
She is highly revered in the NASA.

Since then, she has made waves as a successful and accomplished astronaut, including being part of the first-ever all-female spacewalk.

She deserves deep appreciation.

Throughout that time, Meir has made no secret about her closeness to Judaism and Israel, proudly putting her Jewishness and Israeli ties on full display on social media and bringing an Israeli flag, Star of David socks, a commemorative coin honoring late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon and other related items with her into space.

“Israel is a very important part of me,” she has said.

By the way, Nepal was the first country in South Asia to have established diplomatic relations with the Israeli State born 1948.

Indian Prime Minister Pundit Nehru  was dead against Nepal’s ties with Israel.

Two years ago, when she was on the International Space Station, Meir posted on Twitter a photo of Tel Aviv that she took from space, in which the usually bustling Israeli city is seen looking desolate amid the spread of the corona virus.

“Gazing down at the city in which my father was raised, I take to heart one of his most uttered expressions, ‘This too shall pass’. Wise words to remember, in both good times and bad.

Jessica Meir wants to be the first woman to land on the moon.

But Meir has bigger dreams ahead of her: She wants to go to the moon.

And that out-of-this-world goal may not be out of reach.

Unlimited dreams.

Interest in space travel has never been higher, with technological innovations making space more accessible than ever before. And while NASA is no stranger to the moon, having made several landings on the lunar surface in the 1960s and 1970s, there haven’t been any since.

NASA is gearing up to go back with its long-awaited Artemis missions, with the third mission, Artemis III, tentatively slated for 2025 and set to send an astronaut to the lunar surface.

And specifically, National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) has already made it clear that it prefers a woman for the job, and Meir is among the candidates for the historic honor.

“I wanted to be an astronaut at five years old. I grew up watching the space shuttle launch,” she said in January 2022, as a special guest at the Israel Space Agency’s Israel Space Week, adding that returning to the moon, especially being the first woman, would be the culmination of a childhood dream.

But even if she isn’t chosen, Meir said she still hopes to play a role in this historic moment and is certain to have a place in the future of space exploration.

Congratulations Dr. Jessica Meir in your space adventure.

Hope that she one day travels to Space with Nepal’s National Flag.

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