Rayyanah Barnawi ( ar, ريانة برناوي; born September 1988) is a biomedical researcher and

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

. She is the first Saudi female astronaut, selected 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 ...

as a Mission Specialist 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 the first Arab woman in space.

Education and research

She holds a Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. She also holds a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from

Alfaisal University Alfaisal University is a private, not-for-profit (teaching-oriented) coeducational institute of higher education located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 2002 by the King Faisal Foundation. The first students were admitted in 2008. Al ...

, 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 The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre ( ar, مستشفى الملك فيصل التخصصي ومركز الأبحاث) (KFSH&RC) is tertiary referral hospital in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Overview As a tertiary ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

. As part of the mission, she is conducting mission experiments in her field. On May 22, 2023, Barnawi arrived at the International Space Station on-board SpaceX ship Crew Dragon ''Freedom''. She is the first Arab woman in space and is considered as the 600th person to fly in Earth orbit.600th person to orbit Earth lifts off on Ax-2 mission to space station
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnawi, Rayyanah 1988 births 21st-century Saudi Arabian women scientists 21st-century Saudi Arabian scientists Living people People from Jeddah Saudi Arabian astronauts Saudi Arabian people of African descent University of Otago alumni Women astronauts