Saudi Arabia to send its first female astronaut into space

Saudi Arabia has announced it will send its first female astronaut into space later this year.

Rayyanah Barnawi will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) in the second quarter of this year, along with male astronaut Ali Al Qarni, the Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.

They will be travelling as part of the AX-2 mission to the ISS, the Saudi Space Commission said on Twitter.

“Every journey has its pioneers and every mission has its heroes,” read a Tweet from the commission.

Two more astronauts, Mariam Fardous and Ali Al Gamdi, will train on the Saudi Human Spaceflight Programme on all mission requirements.

“Through this programme, the kingdom seeks to activate scientific innovations at the level of space sciences, enhance its ability to independently conduct its own research that will reflect positively on the future of the industry and the country,” said Abdullah Bin Amer Al Swaha, chairman of the Saudi Space Commission.

“[It will] increase the interest of graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Stem), and develop human capital by attracting talents and the necessary skills.”

The National reported last year how Emirati Sultan Al Neyadi could be joined on the ISS by two astronauts from Saudi Arabia.

Dr Al Neyadi, a former IT professor from Al Ain, will depart from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on February 26 for the six-month long mission.

The Saudi Arabian astronauts are expected to join the project for two weeks, Reuters reported in October.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan bin Salman, an air force fighter pilot, became the first Arab in space in 1985.