Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Arab woman astronaut will go to space as part of Saudi Arabia’s maiden space mission on May 21, as per reports citing the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Onboard will be another Saudi astronaut Ali al-Qarni. The two astronauts will go to the International Space Station in a historic space mission that will be launched from the United States. “I am honoured and happy to represent all the dreams and all the hopes of the people in Saudia Arabia. And also the hopes and dreams of all the women in the region,” said Barnawi in a pre-launch conference.
After delays, the mission would launch no later than May 21, according to a statement made earlier this month by NASA Space Operations. According to SPA, the astronauts will carry out 14 ground-breaking scientific experiments in microgravity that will aid in the development of new methods for creating circumstances that would allow people to explore space more effectively.
The astronauts will live-stream three educational awareness exercises to 12,000 Saudi youngsters. The outcomes are anticipated to not only strengthen the Kingdom’s position in space exploration on a worldwide scale but also to boost Saudi research facilities and improve the field of space exploration.
Once completed, the trip will make the Kingdom one of the select few nations to have sent two astronauts to the International Space Station at the same time. According to SPA, the Kingdom’s astronaut programme, which was started in September 2022, is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions to develop space research.
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Future space-related missions, engagement in scientific research, international collaboration, and top-notch educational and training programmes are all part of the program’s strategy to get future astronauts and engineers ready for space.
Who is Barnawi, the first Arab woman to go on space mission?
Axiom Space’s biography highlights Rayyanah Barnawi’s remarkable career. She was born in 1988 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and has a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences from Otago University in New Zealand and a Master of Biomedical Sciences from Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia. She is a biomedical researcher with almost ten years of expertise in the study of cancer stem cells. She will be concentrating on breast cancer and stem cell research during the trip.
UAE scripted history earlier this year
Sultan Al Neyadi of the UAE made history earlier this year when he became the first Arab astronaut to complete a long trip to the International Space Station. In order to meet Barnawi, Aqarni, and the other astronauts who are a part of the Ax-2 mission, Al Neyadi will still be residing on board the space station.
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