Saudi Arabia's first female astronaut has said her coming space flight is a “dream come true” and that she feels she is carrying the ambitions of all the kingdom's women.
Rayyanah Barnawi, 33, is expected to make history by becoming the first Saudi woman to go to space when she launches to the International Space Station tonight, at 1.27am GST, alongside her colleague Ali Al Qarni and Americans Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner.
The research laboratory scientist will also become the first Arab woman on an orbital mission and to go to the ISS.
“I never thought that I would ever be going to space, but at the same time, it feels like a dream come true. It's an overwhelming feeling,” Ms Barnawi said in a video released by Axiom Space, the Houston company that helped arrange the trip for Saudi Arabia.
“It honestly feels like I am representing all Saudis' ambitions, all female and all researchers as well.
“It's a big honour to be able to go to space, and at the same time, do the things that you love the most.”
'My grandma is my biggest fan'
Ms Barnawi said her grandmother was her role model and that she was happy to have her support for the space mission.
The elderly relative gave Ms Barnawi her 16-year-old pair of earrings to take with her to space.
“My grandma is my biggest fan and I'm very glad that I have my grandma's support,” she said.
The video shows Ms Barnawi's grandmother, father and other family members celebrating her university graduation and her selection for the mission.
From farm girl to astronaut
Ms Barnawi said she comes from a small town in Saudi Arabia and that her father owned a farm.
“My dad had a little farm, he told us how to plant and that was one of my first experiments. It was one of the most fascinating feelings,” she said.
“I was always into exploring new things. Research was one of the things that fulfilled that feeling for me, trying to experiment, finding a piece of the puzzle that could solve a mystery.”
Her passion for research led her to pursue higher education in biomedical science. She now has nine years of experience in cancer stem cell research.
She will carry out stem cell research on the space station as part of the 14 experiments assigned to Saudi astronauts by researchers in the kingdom.
One experiment has been sent by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre.
It involves studying the inflammatory response of human immune cells in microgravity.
They will investigate changes in the mRNA – a genetic material that tells the body how to make proteins.
Societal growth in Saudi Arabia
For Saudi Arabia, the trip shows the progress the kingdom is making in its Vision 2030 initiative.
Sending its first woman to space less than five years after the kingdom lifted its ban on women driving is a notable display of societal growth.
The trip also comes at a time when Arab countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have increased their space exploration activities.
The UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi is currently on the space station ready to welcome his Saudi counterparts.
Mr Al Qarni said in a media briefing last week that he hoped having three Arabs on the space station would help inspire the Arab world further.
“I think it is a great opportunity that the three of us can be aboard the International Space Station,” said Mr Al Qarni, a former air force captain.
“It holds a big message that will inspire people and shows the Arab world [that] we are holding hands and working together for the betterment of humanity.”
