Riyadh, 16 February 2023 (GNP): Saudi Arabia will send its first-ever woman astronaut on a space mission later this year, state media has reported, in the latest move to revamp the kingdom’s ultra-conservative image.
According to SPAENG:
“Rayyana Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station during the second quarter of 2023. She will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission and the space flight will launch from the US.”
https://twitter.com/KSAembassyFI/status/1625900670749487117?s=20
Axiom Space also posted on twitter the lineup for the space mission:
Axiom Space Announces #Ax2 Crew, Second All-Private Mission to Space Station. https://t.co/AgetwEGDb8
— Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) February 13, 2023
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Gulf monarchies have been seeking to diversify their energy-reliant economies through a plethora of projects. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also been trying to shake off the kingdom’s austere image through a push for reforms. Saudi Arabia’s foray into space is not the first, however.
In 1985, Saudi royal Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an air force pilot, took part in a US-organized space mission, becoming the first Arab Muslim to travel into space. In 2018, Saudi Arabia set up a space program and last year launched another to send astronauts into space.
