Saudi Astronauts Complete First Scientific Experiments in Space
Saudi Arabia’s two astronauts Ali al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi and their fellow crew from the Axiom 2 space mission executed their first full day of science operations and media outreach on Wednesday.
They began sharing updates on their efforts on the International Space Station (ISS) on their social media accounts.
Barnawi – the first Saudi woman in space and the first Arab woman on board ISS – began conducting experiments into a wide range of nanomaterial therapeutic applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.
Axiom – the company behind the private spaceflight – said Barnawi completed the experiment, producing the first DNA Nanomaterials on the ISS.
Al-Qarni and Barnawi also performed a test run of the DreamUp Nanoracks Space Kite payload, which will demonstrate the aerodynamic behaviour of kites in microgravity.
