A PRIVATE mission to the International Space Station (ISS) organized by Axiom Space is all set to launch the ‘Ax-2’ on Sunday (local time) from Florida with the first-ever Saudi woman in its crew to voyage into space, according to Axiom Space. Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is the first-ever Saudi woman to voyage into space along with another Saudi national, Ali AlQarni. The launch of Ax-2 is targeted for no earlier than 5:37 pm EDT on Sunday, May 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Funded mission, and aviator, John Shoffner of Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as pilot.

 

The two mission specialists, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are members of the inaugural Saudi national astronaut program, reported Axiom Space. Barnawi is a young laboratory specialist who has vast experience in the research of cancer stem cells. She is currently working as a research and laboratory specialist. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in reproductive science, genetic engineering, and tissue development from the University of Otago in New Zealand, she obtained her master’s degree in biomedical sciences from King Faisal University.