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 an astronaut, engineer, entrepreneur, and advocate for change. She is the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first African woman to go to space. Selected from over 4,000 qualified applicants by Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut program, she flew to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket (NS-22) on August 4, 2022, with the mission of experiencing the Overview Effect and using it to create positive impact on Earth.

Sara is the founder and CEO of PULSE (Physiological Understanding and Life Support Engineering), a biomedical hardware company developing intelligent diagnostic and life support systems for human health in extreme environments. PULSE focuses on AI-integrated medical monitoring, data-driven diagnostics, and next-generation space suit technologies. Its mission is to serve both future space missions and underserved communities on Earth.

She is also the founder and Executive Director of Deep Space Initiative (DSI), a nonprofit organization increasing accessibility and opportunity in the space field while enabling deep space exploration for all. Under her leadership, DSI has supported over 60 research projects, and impacted over 300 individuals across 40+ countries.

Sara is pursuing her PhD in Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota, conducting research at the NASA-funded Human Spaceflight Lab. Her current work focuses on engineering the next generation of planetary spacesuits, with a long-term vision of integrating biomedical systems into intelligent, modular space suits. She is Egypt’s first female analog astronaut and was crew medical officer during a lunar simulation mission at Lunares in Poland. She also completed suborbital research training with Project PoSSUM in 2022, becoming the first Egyptian woman qualified to conduct research in space.

Sara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo with a concentration in Mechatronics and minors in Biology, Chemistry, and PreMed, and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, where she focused on robotic surgery. Her technical background spans bioastronautics, augmented reality, stem cell development, spacecraft systems, and Formula 3 car design.

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.

She brings historic, mission-tested credibility as the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space and the first African woman to reach space, inspiring audiences to think bigger about possibility, progress and global impact.
She pairs deep engineering expertise with entrepreneurial execution as Founder and CEO of PULSE, translating frontier work in life support and intelligent diagnostics into lessons on innovation under extreme constraints.
She is building the next generation of human spaceflight capability through PhD research in aerospace sciences and NASA-funded lab work on planetary spacesuits, giving leaders a clear view of where the future of human performance and resilience is heading.
She turns the Overview Effect into tangible leadership insight, helping organisations connect bold ambition with responsibility, collaboration and long-term thinking.
She advances access and opportunity in space as the founder of Deep Space Initiative, showing audiences how to build ecosystems that unlock talent and accelerate innovation across borders.