Saudi’s human space mission to launch its first woman astronaut into space in 2023

Team Udayavani, Sep 23, 2022, 4:20 PM IST

Image Courtesy: Twitter/Saudi Space Commission

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is gearing up for its first human space mission, which will launch its first female Saudi astronaut along with a male astronaut into space in the year 2023.

Taking to Twitter, the Saudi Space Commission tweeted, “The Kingdom launches the astronauts program, and the first flight in 2023 will carry the first Saudi female astronaut”.

المملكة تطلق برنامج رواد الفضاء، والرحلة الأولى في 2023 تُقل أول رائدة فضاء سعودية.https://t.co/Seei0qls8M#الهيئة_السعودية_للفضاء pic.twitter.com/3oxRQ8QMKj

— الهيئة السعودية للفضاء (@saudispace) September 22, 2022

As per the reports of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the programme aims at qualifying experienced national cadres to carry out long-term and short-term space flights. It is also looking into participation in practical experiments, international research, and future space missions.

Reportedly the space mission programme will be launched in the year 2023 with a historic move of including female pilot and astronaut crew for the first time. By this, Saudi will be creating history by sending the first Saudi woman into space.

It will be a joint Emirati-US mission.

By the launch of this programme, Saudi will be the second Arab country to enter into human space mission after UAE.

In the month of June, this year, UAE announced sending Sultan Al Neyadi on the first long-term space mission in cooperation with NASA and SpaceX.

Earlier, Emirati Nora Al Matrooshi had become the first Arab woman to join the world of astronauts, after the UAE presented her as part of the second batch of its astronauts to NASA in 2021.