RIYADH: Ƶ made history on Sundayas its first female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, and her colleague Ali Al-Qarnilaunchedtoward the International Space Station (ISS).
The duo were on boardthe Axiom Space 2 mission, which launched at5:37 p.m. (EDT time).Astronaut Peggy Whitson and business pioneer and pilot John Shoffner are alsopart of the mission.
يوم واحد فقط ..
هو الفاصل عن انطلاق السعودية— الهيئة السعودية للفضاء (@saudispace)
Before the launch, Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, expressed her excitement and honor at representing Ƶ and the Saudi Space Commission as the country's first female astronaut. She highlighted her passion for research and described the opportunity as a dream come true for everyone involved.
During their eight-day stay on the ISS, Whitson, Shoffner, Al-Qarni, and Barnawi aim to conduct 20 research projects. Among them are 14 projects developed by Saudi scientists, covering various areas such as human physiology, cell biology, and technology development.
The launch was with aSpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, andhada backup launch opportunity scheduled on Monday at 5:14 p.m in case of a launch failure.
It’s the same spot where Ƶ’s first astronaut, PrinceSultanbin Salman, soared in 1985.
On Saturday astronaut Al-Qarni shared pictures on his Twitter accountthe contents of his space travel bag.
محتويات شنطتي لرحلة الفضاء
لو كانت هذي شنطتكم ايش بتاخذون؟— Ali Alqarni (@AstroAli11)
