Mariam H. Fardous ( ar, مريم حامد خليل فردوس) (born 15 September 1984;

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

) is a Saudi astronaut, selected as a back-up astronaut for

Axiom Mission 2 Axiom Mission 2 (or Ax-2) is a planned private crew mission to the International Space Station (ISS), operated by Axiom Space. Its first two crew members have been announced in May 2021. In December 2021, NASA confirmed that the mission would f ...

by the

Saudi Space Commission Saudi Space Commission (SSC) (Arabic: الهيئة السعودية للفضاء) is a Saudi independent government entity established by a royal order on December 27, 2018. The commission is chaired by Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Minister of Commun ...

; her selection was officially announced on February 12, 2023. She is a Saudi

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

scuba diver Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

who was raised in

. She became the first Saudi woman and the first Arab woman to dive deep in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

(North Arctic Circle) on 1 May 2015. On 16 April 2016, Mariam became the first ever Arab woman and only the third woman to dive in the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

. She received the

Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degree after graduating from the

King Abdul Aziz University King Abdulaziz University (KAU) ( ar, جامعة الملك عبد العزيز) is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With over 117,096 students in 2022, it is the largest university in the country. Located in south Jeddah, the uni ...

in 2009. She also became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to attempt for scuba diving in 2015, at a time where women in the country were not even allowed to drive vehicles until September 2017.

Career

Medical career

She received the MBBS degree from KAU University,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

in 2009 and holds master's degree with honors in epidemiology from College of Public Health and Health Informatics of KSAU-HS in 2017. She also has a diploma of business administration from the

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

Emergence as a scuba diver

Fardous worked as a doctor after she graduated from the Medical College of KAU in 2009. She had already learned to dive in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

the year before as she was inspired by the stories about diving there which were told by her father when she a child. She decided to be the first Arab women to dive deep in the Arctic Ocean and then to reach the North Pole Her attempt interested the Saudi women community as they were generally prohibited from

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...

, competing in sports under restricted

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law. Many of these were relaxed in 2017. On 1 May 2015, she became the first Arab woman to cross the North Arctic Circle and later on 16 April 2016 (at the age of 33), she became the first Arab woman and third overall woman to dive in the North Pole. She was the first Saudi physician to dive in North Pole. Antonov_An-74

Humanitarian work

On 7 November 2007, the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia recognised Fardous's three years of humanitarian work during the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

seasons. On 15 September 2015, she was appointed as the Ambassador for the African Non-profit organization African Impacts. She has also visited to countries including South Africa, Lebanon and Greece to provide medical facilities to the people in need under the association of

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...

Astronaut

She was announced as a member of the Saudi astronaut corps in February 2023. Her first assignment is back-up crew of

Career

Medical career

Emergence as a scuba diver

Humanitarian work

Astronaut

References

Further reading