Rayyanah Barnawi (; 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 List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

. She is the first

Saudi Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia See also *Saud (disambiguation) The House of Saud The H ...

female astronaut, selected for

Axiom Mission 2 Axiom Mission 2 (or Ax-2) was a private crewed spaceflight operated by Axiom Space. Ax-2 was launched on 21 May 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9, successfully docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on 22 May. After eight days docked to t ...

as a mission specialist by the

Saudi Space Commission The Saudi Space Agency (SSA; ), previously known as the Saudi Space Commission (SSC), is an independent entity of the Government of Saudi Arabia established by a royal order issued on December 27, 2018, and elevated to agency status on June 14, 2 ...

; her selection was officially announced on February 12, 2023.

Education and research

She holds a Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

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

Alfaisal University Alfaisal University is a private university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsu ...

, 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 () (KFSHRC) is a non-profit tertiary healthcare institution headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Overview As a tertiary referral hospital, it offers primary and specialized inpatient and ...

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. As part of the mission, she conducted 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 Saudi woman in space and is considered as the 600th person to fly in Earth orbit. In 2024 she received the Visionary Award of the

Middle East Institute The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understan ...

.I voiced the Arabic greeting on Voyager’s Golden Record: International space cooperation offers a model for peace in today’s Middle East
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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