Saudi Arabia sends its first female astronaut into space

In a historic moment, Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi, the first female Arab astronaut and a breast cancer researcher, and fighter pilot Ali Al Qarni have been launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the astronauts blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, in the US state of Florida on Sunday at 12:37 am. The Dragon spacecraft will travel for 16 hours to the ISS, with arrival expected at 4:30 pm on Monday.

Once docked, the astronauts plan to spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory, carrying out a full mission comprised of science, outreach and commercial activities.

The team will carry out 14 experiments focused on “human research, cell sciences, and cloud seeding experiments in the microgravity environment”. Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the mission is also to expand space science education in the Kingdom. Saudi male and female students will participate in scientific experiments conducted on the ISS.

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