Rayyanah Barnawi

Astronaut and Biomedical Researcher/Supervisor

Rayyanah Barnawi is a Saudi biomedical researcher and astronaut, and the first Saudi and Arab woman to travel to space. Born in Jeddah in September 1988, she holds a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from the University of Otago in New Zealand and a master's degree in the same field from Alfaisal University in Riyadh. She spent more than nine years at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre within the Stem Cell and Tissue Re-engineering Program, focusing on cancer stem cells and breast cancer. In February 2023 she was selected as a mission specialist on Axiom Mission 2 to the International Space Station, launching on 21 May 2023 alongside astronaut Ali AlQarni and spending about nine days in orbit conducting stem cell, breast cancer and immune cell experiments. After her return she founded BioGravity, an initiative sponsored by the Saudi Space Agency and the first community of practice of its kind in the Middle East for biomedical research in microgravity.