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

  • Representational image
    In addition to 35% tariff, US demands 40% local value addition for 'Made in Bangladesh' goods
  • Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
    Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
  • Photo: Courtesy
    4 arrested, 2 remanded over brutal killing of trader near Mitford Hospital

MOST VIEWED

  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
    How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
  • Representational image. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: 73.63% pass rate among technical students, 68.09% at Madrasahs
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case

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

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

6h | Panorama
Photo: Collected/BBC

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

1d | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

1d | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

4h | TBS Today
All of Iran's uranium still intact, Israel claims

All of Iran's uranium still intact, Israel claims

4h | TBS World
Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

6h | TBS World
Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

7h | TBS Stories
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