Rayyanah Barnawi Explained
| Rayyanah Barnawi |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Status: | Active |
| Birth Place: | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Space Time: | 9 days, 5 hours and 27 minutes |
| Selection: | 2023 |
| Missions: | Axiom Mission 2 |
Rayyanah Barnawi (ar|ريانة برناوي; born September 1988)[1] [2] is a biomedical researcher[3] and astronaut. She is the first Saudi female astronaut, selected for Axiom Mission 2 as a mission specialist[4] by the Saudi Space Commission; her selection was officially announced on February 12, 2023.[5]
Education and research
She holds a Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from University of Otago. She also holds a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from Alfaisal University, where she studied the adhesion of breast cancer stem cells.
Astronaut
When she was selected she was working as a research laboratory technician at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. As part of the mission, she conducted mission experiments in her field.[6]
On May 22, 2023, Barnawi arrived at the International Space Station on-board SpaceX ship Crew Dragon Freedom.[7]
She is the first Saudi woman in space[8] and is considered as the 600th person to fly in Earth orbit.[9]
In 2024 she received the Visionary Award of the Middle East Institute.[10]
Notes and References
- Web site: Meet Rayyanah Barnawi, Ax-2 Mission Specialist . Axiom Space . 23 May 2023.
- Web site: Get to Know Rayyanah Barnawi, Saudi Arabia’s First Female Astronaut . . 16 February 2023 .
- Web site: 14 February 2023 . Saudi Arabia to send its first woman astronaut into space . 14 February 2023 . The Independent . en.
- Web site: Alaeva . Liliia . 14 February 2023 . Saudi Arabia will send a woman into space for the first time . 14 February 2023 . Журнал The Universemagazine Space Tech . en-US.
- Web site: In Line with Vision 2030, the Kingdom Returns to Space by Sending a Male and Female Astronaut to the International Space Station The official Saudi Press Agency . 14 February 2023 . www.spa.gov.sa.
- Web site: Mike Wall . 13 February 2023 . SpaceX to launch 1st Saudi woman to space on private Ax-2 mission . 14 February 2023 . Space.com.
- News: 22 May 2023 . First Arab female astronaut reaches space station . BBC.
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/22/spacex-sends-saudi-astronauts-including-first-arab-woman-to-iss#:~:text=News%7CSpace-,SpaceX%20sends%20Saudi%20astronauts%2C%20including%20first%20Arab%20woman%2C%20to%20ISS,woman%20to%20go%20to%20space.&text=A%20private%20rocket%20carrying%20the,International%20Space%20Station%20(ISS).
- http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-052123a-600th-person-earth-orbit-ax2-launch.html 600th person to orbit Earth lifts off on Ax-2 mission to space station
- https://www.mei.edu/blog/i-voiced-arabic-greeting-voyagers-golden-record-international-space-cooperation-offers-model I voiced the Arabic greeting on Voyager’s Golden Record: International space cooperation offers a model for peace in today’s Middle East
