Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi made history as first Arab woman to travel to space station

 

On Sunday, May 21, Saudi Arabia's Rayyanah Barnawi, a member of the private Ax-2 mission, will become the first Arab woman astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS).

The trip will be led by Houston-based Axiom Space, which is leading its second all-private astronaut expedition to the International Space Station. The mission's four-person crew will travel into orbit in a SpaceX Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

Along with Barnawi, the mission will also feature Barnawi's countryman Ali Aqarni, Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who will act as mission commander, John Shoffner, an aviator, and Barnawi. During Ax-2, Barnawi and Aqarni will both act as mission experts.

"I am honoured and delighted to stand in for all the aspirations and hopes of the Saudi Arabian people. In a pre-launch conference that Axiom streamed on YouTube, Barnawi expressed the aspirations of all the women in the area. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's recent effort to promote greater gender equality in the nation can be witnessed in Barnawi's space mission to the International Space Station.

The countdown begins! Launch - 4 days away for the #Ax2 mission to the @Space_Station. Tune in on May 21st! pic.twitter.com/QRW0vD8zrJ

— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) May 18, 2023

Sultan Al Neyadi of the UAE made history earlier this year when he became the first Arab astronaut to complete a lengthy 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.

Career of Rayyanah Barnawi

Axiom Space's biography highlights 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 throughout the trip.

She is particularly qualified for space missions due to her extracurricular interests. Outdoor and sports enthusiast Barnawi takes part in expeditions all over the world. She has gone hang gliding, ledge swinging, and scuba diving in New Zealand and Indonesia, as well as hiking and rafting in Turkey and other countries.