Guinness World Records recognise Saudi astronaut as 1st female Arab in space

Guinness World Records Monday September 30, 2024 recognised Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi as first female Arab in space

[Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi and Arab woman in space recieving MEI’s Visionary Award (File image/@Astro_Rayyanah)]

Guinness World Records Monday September 30, 2024 recognised Saudi astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi as first female Arab in space.

Saudi Rayyanah Barnawi was part of the Axiom Mission 2 that launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on May 21, 2023. She was accompanied by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni aboard a craft bound for the International Space Station.

“This trip does not represent me alone, but rather the entire Arab world and all Saudis. We are living a dream that once seemed impossible but has become reality", Rayyanah Barnawi said in her first reaction after inclusion in Guinness World Records.

Rayyanah Barnawi was born in September 1988 in Jeddah. She is a biomedical researcher and the first Saudi female astronaut, selected for Axiom Mission 2 as a Mission Specialist by the Saudi Space Commission; her selection was officially announced on February 12, 2023.

Al-Qarni and Barnawi returned on May 31, 2023 after an eight-day stay at the ISS. During their time in space, part of the Saudi Astronaut Program, they carried out 14 research projects on microgravity, three of which were kite experiments involving 12,000 school students from 47 locations across the Kingdom, conducted via satellite.

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