Muhammed Ahmed Faris (, ''Muḥammad ʾAḥmad Fāris''; 26 May 1951 – 19 April 2024) was a Syrian military aviator and

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. He was the first Syrian and the second Arab in space.

Career

Born in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, Syria, he was a pilot in the Syrian Air Force with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He specialized in navigation when he was selected to participate in the Intercosmos spaceflight program on 30 September 1985. Faris flew as Research Cosmonaut in the

Interkosmos Interkosmos () was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with Human spaceflight, crewed and Uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed space missions. The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program fr ...

program on Soyuz TM-3 to the

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

space station in July 1987, spending 7 days, 23 hours, and 5 minutes in space. He returned to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

aboard Soyuz TM-2. Faris is credited with carrying the first recorded Earth dirt into space, which was a vial carrying soil from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Faris was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

on 30 July 1987; he was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

. 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 al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

's regime and joined the armed opposition. On 13 September 2012, he had an exclusive interview with Al Aan TV and covered many topics regarding the ongoing civil war in Syria. Faris was 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, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, 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 (Arabic: الحكومة السورية المؤقتة; ''Ḥukūmat as-Sūriyya al-Muwaqqata'') was a government-in-exile and later a quasi-state in Syria formed on 18 March 2013 by the National Coalition of Syria ...

, a self-appointed opposition grouping.

Personal life

Faris moved with his family to Turkey in 2012 as a result of the Syrian civil war. He obtained Turkish citizenship in 2020. Faris had five children: four boys and one girl.

Death

Faris was admitted to Sanko Hospital in the Turkish province of

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

after a heart attack in March 2024. He died on 19 April 2024 at the age of 72 and was buried in the rebel held city of Azaz in Northern Syria.

References

External links