First Arab female astronaut returns to Earth

A private space flight, carrying a team including the first Arab woman sent into orbit, has splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday (31 May). They returned after a research mission on board the International Space Station (ISS).

The Saudi Arabian astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi returned home safely after she and the team spend 10 days on the ISS. The team endured a 12 hour journey back to Earth before splashing down in Florida.

2 Americans, 2 Saudi astronauts

Called the Axiom 2 crew, it was led by retired NASA astronaut, Peggy Whitson (63). Whitson holds the US record for the most time spent in orbit: 665 days in space over three long-duration missions to the ISS and 10 spacewalks. She is now Axiom’s director of human spaceflight.

“That was a phenomenal ride,” Whitson radioed to mission controllers after the landing. ” We really enjoyed all of it,” she said. Ax-2’s designated pilot was John Shoffner (67) who is an aviator, Alaskan investor and race car driver.

Rounding off the crew are the first two astronauts from Saudi Arabia to fly on-baord a private spacecraft. Ali Algarni (31) is a fighter pilot for the Royal Saudi Air Force. Joining him, is Rayyanah Barnawi (34) who is a biomedical scientist in cancer stem cell research.

Back from space

A NASA live feed confirmed that the crew trained extensively for the splashdown, and their post-space rehabilitation is active back on Earth. “They are returning from ten days from space…their bodies are going to feel very different,” it explained.

Barnawi is the first Arab woman to go on a space mission. She and her colleague, Qarni, are the first Saudi astronauts to visit space in nearly 40 years. This after Prince Sultan bin Salman was launched into space on NASA’s Space Shuttle in 1985.