Pathway to stars: Mehran’s lego models carve his way to space
SHARJAH: “Firstly”, says Tammanna Ansari, mother of Mehran Faiyaz Ansari, 9, student in Al Salam Community School, Dubai, and an aspiring astronaut, “I want to offer my appreciation for showing your interest in Mehran’s lego building talent. It’s really big support for us to show his talent to the world through the media.” Lego, for those not yet in the know, consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks which can be assembled and connected to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Mehran is a young expert who creates lego models of Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, NASA Mars Perseverance Rover and the Space Shutle, among other space vehicle mock-ups. “As a mother,” Ansari continues, “I feel so proud and blessed to have a brilliant son like Mehran. Though small in age, he is very capable of building these types of technical lego models, by just reading the instruction booklets. I want to motivate my son through your plaform. He wants to become an astronaut and it is a very big dream. But we can influence him as much as we can, through the media.”
Mehran’s dream is as vast as the cosmos, continues his mother, and her son aspires to follow in UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi’s inspirational footsteps. “Mehran followed all of Sultan’s six month journey in ISS through the UAE astronaut’s Insta profile, regular posts and stories,” she says. She adds that Mehran has also used his knowledge of space by using names from the cosmos to name his rover and lunar lander prototypes. “Mehran wants to go to moon like astronaut Neil Armstrong,” she confirms. Mehran Faiyaz Ansari talks to Gulf Today about his space dreams
How did you decide on lego bricks to make your space vehicle models?
When I was smaller, I used to build cars and transformer robots with lego bricks. My mum always motivated me to build these types of legos, instead of playing games on ipad like other kids. Gradually, I began to get interested in lego bricks toys. Then I asked her to buy me a NASA Space Shutle in lego bricks. That was the first space lego model I built. I did it by reading the instruction booklet. I built it in five days. I was so happy! Then my mum purchased bigger ones such as NASA Mars Perseverance Rover, Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, and Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit. This is how I decided on building lego bricks space models.
Why do you want to be an astronaut?
I want to be an astronaut because I want to explore space and want to be part of the research that benefits mankind. Space is a mystical area where many fantasies become real; colour clouds, black holes … and going to different planets is so much fun!
Does your model making interfere with your studies?
No! Building lego models always energises me ater studies. It makes my mind smarter and keeps it always busy and active.
How do your teachers and classmates react to your work?
They are all amazed by my work! Our principal once visited my class and recorded a video of mine about the Mars Rover and Space Shutle and how I built them. It was posted on our school’s social media plaform.
How do your parents encourage you?
My mother, Tammanna Ansari (digital calligraphy artist and founder and owner of Kun Artz Studio) motivates me in different ways, since she always purchases space related books and toys for me. She continuously encourages me to read space books, and we watch space movies together. She is my best friend! She always talks to me about my future plans and how we can achieve our goals. My father Mohammed Faiyaz Ansari (Dubai based businessman) also supports me by purchasing space related lego bricks toys. We have watched movies together such as Interstellar, Gravity, First Man, Apollo 13, The Martian and Zathura. My parents talk about space with me and we watch the moon from our balcony together. We have also seen it with the binoculars and this is also how I got very close to the moon and dreamed stronger about becoming an astronaut.
Do you plan to meet Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi?
I plan to meet Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi because I want to show him all my lego bricks space models. I want to hear what he feels about them. He also likes to build lego bricks space models. I learnt this through his videos on his Instagram profile. I am so inspired by him, I want to be like him one day. I like his experiments about farming in space. But my most favourite is his first spacewalk video.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are so big … first, I will become an astronaut. I want to become a rocket scientist as well. My vision is to create a spaceship which will travel from planet Earth to Dwarf planet Ceres. It will take 18-24 months to travel to it. It has a very small quantity of oxygen, most of which is locked up in its ice water. So, Ceres might have life on it and I predict this. That’s why I want to send a rover to land on Ceres. I have already decided my spaceship will be called ‘Cere 1’.