A Saudi Arabian woman will become the first woman astronaut from the country to go on a space mission later this year.
Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission this spring by the private space company Axiom Space, according to Saudi Press Agency and Axiom.
The crew will be launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Neighbouring United Arab Emirates had become the first Arab country to send woman astronautNoura Al-Matrooshiinto space in 2021.