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KSA to Send 1st Saudi Female and Male Astronauts to Space in 2023

  • Publish date: Monday، 13 February 2023
KSA to Send 1st Saudi Female and Male Astronauts to Space in 2023

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday, February 13th, a plan to send the first Saudi female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, and Saudi male astronaut, Ali Al-Qarni, to the International Space Station (ISS) during the second quarter of 2023.

The move, a part of the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program, aims to boost national capabilities in human spaceflight and contribute to scientific research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as sustainability and space technology.

The astronauts will be sent to space among the crew of the Axiom Mission 2 (AX-2) space mission, which will be Axiom Space's second all-private astonaut mission to the ISS.

The 12-day mission is scheduled to launch from the US in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket.

The four-person Axiom Space crew also includes Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner, both from the US.