Saudi Arabia will ship its first ever female astronaut on a area project later this yr, country media has reported, withinside the trendy flow to redesign the kingdom`s ultra-conservative photograph.
Rayyana Barnawi will be a part of fellow Saudi male astronaut Ali Al-Qarni on a project to the International Space Station (ISS) “throughout the second one region of 2023”, the reputable Saudi Press Agency stated on Sunday.
The astronauts “will be a part of the group of the AX-2 area project” and the distance flight will “release from the USA”, the company stated.
The oil-wealthy usa can be following withinside the footsteps of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates which in 2019 have become the primary Arab usa to ship one in every of its residents into area.
At the time, astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent 8 days at the ISS. Another fellow Emirati, Sultan al-Neyadi, may even make a voyage later this month.
Nicknamed the “Sultan of Space”, 41-yr-antique Neyadi turns into the primary Arab astronaut to spend six months in area while he blasts off for the ISS aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket.
Gulf monarchies had been searching for to diversify their energy-reliant economies thru a plethora of projects.Saudi de facto chief Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has additionally been seeking to shake off the kingdom’s austere photograph thru a push for reforms.
Since his upward thrust to energy in 2017, ladies had been allowed to power and to tour overseas with out a male guardian, and their percentage withinside the personnel has extra than doubled because 2016, from 17 percentage to 37 percentage.Saudi Arabia’s foray into area isn’t always the primary, however.
In 1985, Saudi royal Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an airforce pilot, took component in a US-organised area project, turning into the primary Arab Muslim to tour into area.In 2018, Saudi Arabia installation a area programme and final yr released any other to ship astronauts into area, all a part of Prince Salman’s Vision 2030 schedule for monetary diversification.