Saudi Arabia To Send First Woman Into Space

Rayyanah Barnawi

Saudi Arabia will send its first-ever woman astronaut on a space mission later this year, state media has confirmed.

This is one of its moves to revamp the kingdom’s ultra-conservative image.

Rayyanah Barnawi will join fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) “during the second quarter of 2023”, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.

The astronauts “will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission” and the space flight will “launch from the USA”, the agency said.

The oil-rich country will be following in the footsteps of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates which in 2019 became the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space.