Muhammed Ahmed Faris ( ar, محمد أحمد فارس, ''Muḥammad ʾAḥmad Fāris''; born 26 May 1951) is a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n military aviator. He was the first Syrian and the second

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

in space.

Career

Born in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, Syria, he was a pilot in the

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War * ...

with the rank of a colonel. He specialized in navigation when he was selected to participate in the Intercosmos spaceflight program on 30 September 1985. He flew as

Research Cosmonaut Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

in the

Interkosmos Interkosmos (russian: Интеркосмос) was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with crewed and uncrewed space missions. The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program from USSR ...

program on Soyuz TM-3 to the

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

space station in July 1987, spending 7 days 23 hours and 5 minutes in space. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-2. He is credited with carrying the first recorded Earth dirt into space, which was a vial carrying soil from Damascus. Faris was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

on 30 July 1987; he was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

. After his spaceflight, Faris returned to the Syrian Air Force and lived in Aleppo.

Syrian civil war

On 4 August 2012, during the Syrian civil war, Faris defected from

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

's regime and joined the armed

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

. On 13 September 2012, made an exclusive interview with

Al Aan TV AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

and covered many topics regarding the ongoing civil war in Syria. Faris is also part of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, an anti-Assad grouping. In a March 2016 interview as a Syrian refugee in Turkey, Faris stated regarding the ongoing civil war: "I tell Europe if you don't want

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

, then you should help us get rid of this regime," adding "I am very sorry about the Russian interference, which has stood on the side of dictator Bashar Assad, and has begun to kill the Syrian people with their planes". In September 2017, Faris was appointed Defense Minister of the

Syrian Interim Government The Syrian Interim Government ''(SIG)'' is an alternative government in Syria, formed by the umbrella opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The interim government indirectly controls some areas ...

, a self-appointed opposition grouping.

Personal life

Faris is married and has three children.

References

External links

Spacefacts biography of Muhammed Faris

Space Knight
1951 births Living people Syrian cosmonauts Syrian people of Arab descent Syrian Muslims Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin People from Aleppo Syrian Air Force personnel Syrian defectors Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Mir crew members {{syria-bio-stub

Career

Syrian civil war

Personal life

See also

References

External links