Saudi Arabia to send first woman astronaut to International Space Station this year

Saudi Arabia will send the first Saudi woman astronaut to the International Space Station this year, according to state media.

Rayyanah Bernawi will be sent to the space station during the second quarter of 2023 along with male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni as they join the AX-2 space mission crew, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

تعرّف على رائدة الفضاء: ريّانة برناوي
السعودية #نحو_الفضاء

Meet the astronaut: Rayyanah Barnawi
Saudi Arabia Towards Space pic.twitter.com/o5qMWYJUwF

— الهيئة السعودية للفضاء (@saudispace) February 12, 2023

The historic mission will make the kingdom one of the world’s few countries to bring two astronauts of the same nationality aboard the station at the same time, the agency said.

Saudi Arabia launched its first astronaut program through the Saudi Space Commission in September 2022.

The Saudi Astronaut Program is part of Vision 2030, the kingdom's ambitious strategy to help diversify its economy by the end of this decade.

Vision 2030 has seen Saudi Arabia pump money into science and technology sectors, among others.

The space commission said at the program's launch that one of the first astronauts it would send into space would be a woman.

The astronaut program will also include the training of two astronauts, Mariam Fardous and Ali Al-Gamdi, on all mission requirements.

The flight is set to launch from the USA.

In 2019, Emirati Hazzaa al-Mansoori made history as the first Arab to reach the International Space Station, after blasting off from Kazakhstan.