Saudi Arabia will soon send its first female and male astronauts to the International Space Station. The step aims to boost Saudi capabilities in human spaceflight geared towards serving humanity and benefiting from the promising opportunities offered by the space industry
Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni will blast off into outer space in the second quarter of this year.
The Saudi astronauts will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission and will advance Saudi Arabia’s contribution to scientific research in space technology, health, and sustainability.
The space mission is scheduled to launch from the USA to the International Space Station.
In addition, the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program includes the training of two more astronauts on all mission requirements. They have been named as Mariam Fardous and Ali AlGamdi.
The Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission (SSC), Abdullah Bin Amer Al-Swaha, said that the Kingdom’s leadership is keen to give unlimited support to the space program.
This support aims to increase graduates’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and to nurture innovation in space sciences, added Al-Sawaha.
It also aims to improve the Kingdom’s capacity to conduct its own research, which will benefit the industry and the nation, and develop human capital by attracting skilled talents.
Sending astronauts into space is a symbol of the Kingdom’s global competitiveness in fields of technology, engineering, research, and innovation.
