Who is Rayyanah Barnawi, first Saudi woman to voyage in space? | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
July 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2025
Who is Rayyanah Barnawi, first Saudi woman to voyage in space?

Science

Hindustan Times
07 April, 2023, 07:10 pm
Last modified: 07 April, 2023, 07:16 pm

Related News

  • Saudi crown prince meets Iranian foreign minister in Jeddah
  • Low-skilled Saudi jobs getting tougher for Bangladeshis amid mandatory certification, poor salary
  • James Webb telescope spots young exoplanet in distant dust disc
  • Grand Mosque’s Friday sermon translated into 35 languages
  • SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

Who is Rayyanah Barnawi, first Saudi woman to voyage in space?

Rayyanah Barnawi, along with a crew of three other astronauts, will take off on a private mission from the US state of Florida on May 8, NASA officials said

Hindustan Times
07 April, 2023, 07:10 pm
Last modified: 07 April, 2023, 07:16 pm
Rayyanah Barnawi. Photo: Collected
Rayyanah Barnawi. Photo: Collected

Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is set to become the first Saudi Arabian woman to blast off on a mission to space this May. Part of a private mission, Barnawi will be joined by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter pilot; Peggy Whitson, a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut; and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot on the trip, the Nasa officials said Thursday.

The four-member crew will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, marking the launch of private space company Axiom Space's second mission.

All you need to know about Rayyanah Barnawi:

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Barnawi will serve as a mission specialist for Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2). The international astronaut's trip to space is being seen as Saudi Arabia's latest bid to revamp its ultra-conservative image.

She, along with the crew, will set off from Florida, United States, on 8 May in the private mission seen as an important step towards the first commercial space station in the world – a possible replacement for ISS, Nasa said on its website.

Barnawi earned her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has done masters in biomedical sciences from Saudi Arabia itself. A research laboratory technician with nine years of experience in breast cancer and stem-cell cancer research, she will be the first Muslim female astronaut to fly to space on a 10-day mission to ISS, Nasa said.

The mission comes a year after Axiom Space's first bid in April 2022, when four astronauts spent 17 days in orbit as part of Ax-1. The takeoff will happen on May 8 from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Axiom Space and Nasa officials said in a briefing to preview the flight.

 

Top News / World+Biz / Middle East

Saudi Arabia / space

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Bangladesh and US hold tariff talks on 11 July 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    Dhaka, Washington yet to agree on 20% of US tariff conditions: BGMEA
  • A file photo of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman speaking virtually at a party programme. Photo: Collected
    ‘Why is govt allowing this’: Tarique calls for crackdown on mob violence
  • Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, former vice-president of BGMEA. Photo: Courtesy
    35% US tariff: Bangladesh’s $10b garment trade teeters on edge

MOST VIEWED

  • Representational image
    In addition to 35% tariff, US demands 40% local value addition for 'Made in Bangladesh' goods
  • Screengrab blurred
    Killers bash in head of man with rock, stomp body with perverse pleasure
  • How tender rules and a lone bidder stall a $2.5b power plant
    How tender rules and a lone bidder stall a $2.5b power plant
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case
  • Photo: UNB
    WHO's Saima Wazed Putul 'placed on indefinite leave' amid corruption allegations: Health Policy Watch
  • After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients
    After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients

Related News

  • Saudi crown prince meets Iranian foreign minister in Jeddah
  • Low-skilled Saudi jobs getting tougher for Bangladeshis amid mandatory certification, poor salary
  • James Webb telescope spots young exoplanet in distant dust disc
  • Grand Mosque’s Friday sermon translated into 35 languages
  • SpaceX Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

Features

The 2020 Harrier's Porsche Cayenne coupe-like rear roofline, integrated LED lighting with the Modellista special bodykit all around, and a swanky front grille scream OEM Plus for the sophisticated enthusiast looking for a bigger family car that isn’t boring. PHOTO: Ahbaar Mohammad

2020 Toyota Harrier Hybrid: The Japanese Macan

2h | Wheels
The showroom was launched through a lavish event held there, and in attendance were DHS Motors’ Managing Director Nafees Khundker, CEO Imran Zaman Khan, and GMs Arman Rashid and Farhan Samad. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

GAC inaugurate flagship showroom in Dhaka

2h | Wheels
After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients

After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients

1d | Panorama
Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

1d | The Big Picture

More Videos from TBS

Flashpoint Cumilla: where the July coup turned violent

Flashpoint Cumilla: where the July coup turned violent

7m | TBS Stories
US-Canada trade talks still uncertain

US-Canada trade talks still uncertain

2h | TBS World
Air India crash: What happened before the plane crashed?

Air India crash: What happened before the plane crashed?

3h | TBS World
Home Affairs Advisor calls on everyone to come forward and stop violence

Home Affairs Advisor calls on everyone to come forward and stop violence

5h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net