Saudi Arabia To Send Astronaut Team To International Space Station

Saudi Arabia will send the Kingdom’s first female astronaut and a male astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) during the second quarter of 2023.

Astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission, Axiom Space’s second all-private astronaut mission to the ISS.

The spaceflight is scheduled to launch from the United States to the International Space Station.

The Saudi Human Spaceflight Program includes the training of two more astronauts, Mariam Fardous and Ali AlGamdi, on all mission requirements.

Previously launched by the Saudi Space Commission (SSC), the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program is a collaboration with US company Axiom Space to train Saudi astronauts and bolster SSC’s space exploration.

The space mission is historic as it will make the Kingdom one of the few countries in the world that brings two astronauts of the same nationality aboard the ISS simultaneously.

Saudi Space Commission Chairman Abdullah Al-Swaha said the Kingdom’s leadership is keen to give unlimited support to the program, which aims to increase graduates’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to nurture innovation in space sciences.

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.