The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be sending its first female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, to the International Space Station (ISS).
The 33-year old research laboratory specialist will be responsible for conducting mission experiments aboard the ISS.
Barnawi has nine years of experience in cancer stem research and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (ReGD) from New Zealand’s Otago University as well as a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences from Riyadh’s Alfaisal University.
In the second quarter of 2023, Barnawi and Saudi male astronaut, Ali Alqarni, will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission. Together, they’ll be the second and third Saudi Arabians to fly to space.
Astronauts Mariam Fardous and Ali al-Gamdi will also be trained on the mission’s requirements and join the AX-2 team as backup crew.
The Saudi Space Commission announced the news Sunday, saying the mission serves to “empower national capabilities in human spaceflight geared towards humanity and benefiting from the promising opportunities offered by the space industry.”
The spaceflight is scheduled to launch from the US and will also make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia one of the few countries to bring two astronauts of the same nationality aboard the International Space Station simultaneously.
The country’s astronaut program launched in September 2022, with reports pointing to a potential partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX exploration company, but the Saudi Space Commission has instead announced an international partnership with Axiom Space– a program specialising in human spaceflights and the development of space infrastructure in the US.