Saudi Arabia has confirmed it will send its first ever woman astronaut, Rayyana Barnawi on a space mission later this year in the latest development aimed at changing the Islamic kingdom?s conservative image.
Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) ?during the second quarter of 2023?, the official Saudi Press Agency revealed in a statement.
According to Arabian News, the astronauts ?will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission? and the space flight will ?launch from the USA.?
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Saudi Arabia joins neighbouring United Arab Emirates who became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space in 2019.
At the time, astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent eight days on the International Space Station. Another fellow Emirati, Sultan al-Neyadi, will also make a voyage later this month.
The 41-year-old Neyadi nicknamed ?Sultan of Space? will emerge as the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space when he blasts off for the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
