Rayyanah Barnawi, first Saudi female astronaut

 Saudi Arabia intends to send its first female astronaut to the International Space Station on a SpaceX flight. This step comes in light of the new vision of Saudi, which opened great doors for women after they were deprived of their most basic rights, including driving a car.

The ‘Axiom Mission 2’ (AX-2) operation will be launched on May 21. The spacecraft will carry the Saudi Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, who will conduct out a mission with the Saudi astronaut Ali Qarni.

News media outlets reported that Qarni and Barnawi arrived in the U.S. state of Florida, to start the quarantine period, in preparation for the launch of their scientific mission in space.

The Saudi Space Authority described the flight as “historic”. But the details of the mission have not been revealed yet.

Barnawi, 33, is a breast cancer researcher with over nine years of experience in stem cell and tissue reengineering programs.

Throughout her career, she has worked to improve research protocols, explore several technologies, manage several breast cancer research projects.

The two Saudis will be accompanied on the space mission by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has previously visited the International Space Station three times, and American businessman John Shoffner.