Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans for space. Its astronauts on SpaceX's private Ax-2 mission are just the start, official says

Axiom Space Ax-2 astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi on the left and Ax-2 commander Peggy Whitson smile for a photo surrounded by science gear on International Space Station.

For the first time ever, two Saudi Arabians are living and working on the International Space Station (ISS).

Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi launched to the orbiting lab last Sunday (May 21) on Ax-2 mission, a four-person private mission operated by the Houston company Axiom Space. The duo are just the second and third Saudis to reach space, and Barnawi is the first woman from the kingdom ever to make it to the final frontier.