Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |

Rayyanah Barnawi, a cancer stem-cell researcher, age 33 set her record as Saudi Arabia’s first female astronaut reaches to the International Space Station ISS to advance breast cancer research to the orbiting space station, where together with crew members will conduct research and scientific experiments. 

As CNN reported, Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) astronauts Peggy Whitson, John Shoffner, Ali Al Qarni and

Rayyanah Barnawi now aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 11 a.m.

on Monday, May 22.2023.

Rayyanah Barnawi, one of the four astronauts on board, expressed her emotion with teary eyes before leaving for space travel, saying, "It's a moment when dreams come true for everyone." 

Then, in a live flight video, she thanked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and others for supporting the mission, saying, "I'm here to represent the hopes of everyone in my homeland."

Barnawi said, "Greetings from outer space, I'm here not only representing myself but representing the hopes and dreams of everyone back home, everyone in the region." 

"It was a great launch, a great ride, we had a lot of fun on the way up and we're really excited to get a lot of work done up here," he added. 

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on Sunday, "Congratulations to Axiom, SpaceX, and the Axiom Mission 2 crew on a successful launch! During their time aboard the International Space Station, the Ax-2 astronauts will carry out more than 20 scientific experiments, helping us better understand space radiation, weather in

low-gravity conditions, and more." 

"This mission is more proof of NASA’s commitment to help our industry partners develop the next generation of space technology and support a growing commercial space economy." Nelson added.

The “Crew Dragon,” headed for space on a Falcon 9 rocket, was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:37 pm on May 21 and arrived at the International Space Station on the May 22 after about 16 hours of space travel. They will return after doing about 20 science experiments for eight days and will return

to earth on May 30,2023.

Rayyanah Barnawi’s arrival in the space is really appreciable and a big success as Saudi Arabia is one of the

most autocratic countries that has restricted women's rights severely in the world. 

But this credit goes to Crown Prince Mohammed Salman whose focus is on Saudi Arabia's space-related

business as part of the 'Vision 2030' plan and announced a space flight program last year, including training

female astronauts.

The Arab population on the International Space Station increased to three after two Saudi astronauts

Rayyanah Barnawi, a research scientist, and Ali Al Qarni, a fighter pilot, joined the UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi, the

first Saudi citizens in space since 1985 in orbit on Monday.