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List of Arab astronauts

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Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, the first Arab astronaut who flew on STS-51-G aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985

To date, there have been six astronauts from Arab nations, also called "najmonauts"[1][2][3][4] (from Arabic نجم (najm), meaning 'star', and Ancient Greek ναύτης (nautes), meaning 'sailor')[5][6] who have flown to space.[7][8]

Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia flew in the US Space Shuttle in 1985.[9][10][11] Syrian astronaut Muhammed Faris made a space flight in 1987, as part of a joint Syrian-Soviet mission.[12][13][14] In 2019 Hazza Al Mansouri of the United Arab Emirates flew in the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to the International Space Station and in 2023 Sultan Al Neyadi from the United Arab Emirates flew to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew capsule.[15][16][17] Al Neyadi was later joined during his mission by Ali Al-Qarni and the first Arab female, Saudi Rayyanah Barnawi, both from Saudi Arabia.[18][19][20][21]

Saudi astronauts

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In 1985, the Arab Organization of Space Communications nominated Sultan bin Salman Al Saud. Originally a civilian pilot holding a commercial pilots licence,[9] Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud, was born in Riyadh, to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and holds a bachelor's degree of Arts in Media from the University of Denver, Colorado. Al Saud undertook high-level training before his flight, including: how to deploy the Arab satellite at a distance of 320 km above the Earth's surface, as well as how to use a camera from the unit (Hamlad - 500) to take pictures of geological features of the Arabian Peninsula.

In 2023, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi became the first Saudi astronauts who traveled to the ISS on the Axiom 2 private mission. Rayyanah was the first female Arab astronaut.[22][23][24][25]

Emirati astronauts

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On 25 September 2019, Hazza Al Mansouri became the first Emirati to become an astronaut, travelling in the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to the International Space Station.[26] During his short stay aboard the ISS, Al Mansouri conducted 15 experiments created by UAE school students and selected under an MBRSC "Science in space" competition,[27][28] conducted Earth observation experiments, filmed the first ever tour of the ISS in Arabic and became the first Middle eastern person to be studied following time in microgravity.[29]

Sultan Al Neyadi became the second Emirati astronaut who traveled to the ISS on the SpaceX Crew-6 mission. Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla are other UAE astronauts.

Syrian astronaut

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Muhammed Faris was a Syrian astronaut born in Aleppo in 1951.[12] Faris was the first Syrian astronaut and second Arab into space, flying in the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz M3 (TM-2) to space station Mir on 22 July 1987 with two Soviet cosmonauts in the program for cooperation in space between Syria and the Soviet Union. He is credited with carrying the first recorded Earth dirt into space, which was a vial carrying soil from Damascus.[30]

Astronaut of Iraqi descent

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On 25 September 2019, Jessica Meir whose father is of Sephardic Jewish descent and was born in Baghdad,[31] travelled in the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft to the International Space Station.[32] She delivered an empowering video message of support to kids on the Hope Buses in Baghdad.[33]

List

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Image Country Name Mission (launch date) Insignia Description
 Saudi Arabia Sultan bin Salman Al Saud[34] STS-51-G (June 17, 1985)
First Muslim, first Saudi, first Arab, first member of royalty in space.
 Syria Muhammed Faris[35] Mir EP-1 (July 22, 1987)
First Syrian in space; second Arab in space.
 United Arab Emirates Hazza Al Mansouri Soyuz MS-15 (September 25, 2019) First Emirati in space and ISS; third Arab in space.
 Egypt Sara Sabry Blue_Origin_NS-22 (August 4, 2022)
[[File:|frameless|100x100px|]]
 First Arab woman in space; first Egyptian astronaut; first African woman in space.[36]
 United Arab Emirates Sultan Al Neyadi SpaceX Crew-6 (March 2, 2023)
Second Emirati in space; fifth Arab in space; first Arab to complete Extravehicular activity.
 Saudi Arabia Ali AlQarni Axiom Mission 2 (May 21, 2023)
[[File:|frameless|100x100px|]]
 First male Saudi to ISS.
 Saudi Arabia Rayyanah Barnawi Axiom Mission 2 (May 21, 2023)
[[File:|frameless|100x100px|]]
 First Saudi woman in space; third Muslim woman in space.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "From Sultan AlNeyadi to Hazzaa AlMansoori; meet the 'Najmonaut's of the Arab world". me.mashable.com. 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  2. ^ Nasir, Sarwat (2020-10-08). "Forget astronauts, meet the 'najmonauts': experts coin a new word for Arab space explorers". The National. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  3. ^ "Experts want region to boldly go with a new name for Arab astronauts". 9 October 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-31 – via PressReader.
  4. ^ Web Desk. "UAE's Sultan AlNeyadi now a 'najmonaut': Meet the only 4 Arabs in this elite circle of space explorers". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  5. ^ Bullen, Lee (2020-10-20). "Russia Has Cosmonauts So Arab Spacemen Want Najmonauts". ViralTab. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  6. ^ "Muslim Astronaut Posts Stunning Video of Mecca From Space". Futurism. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  7. ^ "Emirati astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi: First Arab 'space girl' set for orbital mission". gulfnews.com. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  8. ^ Nasir, Sarwat (2021-07-07). "Dubai Police pilot turned astronaut sets sights on the Moon". The National. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  9. ^ a b "Astronaut Biography: Salman Al-Saud". spacefacts.de.
  10. ^ "Johnson Space Center Home". 11 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Al-Saud". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Cosmonaut Biography: Muhammed Faris". spacefacts.de.
  13. ^ "Фарис Мухаммед Ахмед". warheroes.ru.
  14. ^ "Faris". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  15. ^ "From Sultan AlNeyadi to Hazzaa AlMansoori; meet the 'Najmonaut's of the Arab world". me.mashable.com. 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  16. ^ "UAE's Sultan AlNeyadi now a 'najmonaut': Meet the 4 Arabs in this elite circle of space explorers". MSN. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  17. ^ "How the UAE has set its sights on space". The Week. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  18. ^ DUNN, MARCIA (2023-05-31). "Private flight with 2 Saudi astronauts returns from space station with Gulf of Mexico splashdown". Chron. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  19. ^ "Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, returns from space station". MSN. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  20. ^ "SpaceX capsule splashes down in Gulf of Mexico". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  21. ^ "Saudi, US astronauts splash down on return from space station". MSN. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  22. ^ "First Arab female astronaut arrives at ISS". MSN. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  23. ^ "Astronaut Team Comprising First Arab Woman In Orbit Returns From Space Station".
  24. ^ "Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, heads for splashdown". MSN. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  25. ^ "Private astronaut crew, including first Arab woman in orbit, return from space station". The Straits Times. 2023-05-31. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  26. ^ "UAE in space: UAE Mission 1 a revered milestone in nation's space exploration goals". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Schools invited to pitch for space project for UAE astronauts". gulfnews.com.
  28. ^ "Science in Space – Push the boundaries and send your experiment to space".
  29. ^ "Hazzaa Ali AlMansoori | Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre - MBRSC -UAE". Mbrsc.ae. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  30. ^ "The first Syrian in space". 9 April 2015 – via The National.
  31. ^ "Swedish-Israeli NASA astronaut Jessica Meir gets ready for space". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  32. ^ "My father's journey began here in Baghdad, his birthplace and home to Meirs for many years. Goodnight Baghdad! #TheJourney #GoodnightFromSpace". twitter.com. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  33. ^ "NASA Astronaut Meir Sends Special Message from Space to Hope Bus Children in Baghdad". iraqichildren.org/. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  34. ^ A prince in space Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Saudi Aramco World, January/February 1986, p20-29
  35. ^ El-Maghraby, Tamer (19 March 2007). "Eight Muslims in Space and Counting". IslamOnline.net. Retrieved March 26, 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  36. ^ Flynn, Abigail. "Alumna Astronaut Sara Sabry Becomes First Egyptian to Reach Space". The American University in Cairo. American University in Cairo. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  37. ^ Wall, Mike. "Saudi Arabia's 1st female astronaut hopes kids follow in her footsteps". Space.com. Future US, Inc.
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