Saudi Arabian astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi shared an incredible view of Makkah from the International Space Station (ISS) during her scientific journey.
On Friday, Barnawi shared a video on Twitter showing the night view of Makkah with the bright illumination of the Grand Mosque.
“After I concluded my experiments for the day, we happened to pass over Makkah,” Barnawi tweeted.
Watch the video below:
Rayyanah commented as the spacecraft passed over the Kingdom, saying, “All of Saudi Arabia is enlightened; this is Makkah, and this Grand Mosque, God willing, blessed be God.”
Barnawi, the first Saudi woman in space and the first Arab woman aboard the ISS, began experimenting with a wide range of therapeutic applications for nanomaterials, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.
On Thursday, Barnawi tweeted, “The first steps on our scientific journey; Life sciences glovebox experience.”
Ali Al-Qarni and Bernawi also conducted a test run of a payload demonstrating the aerodynamic behaviour of kites in microgravity.
Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni were launched into space on May 21 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Accompanied by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and American entrepreneur John Shofner, the launch was organised by Axiom Space.
During the mission, the flight crew conducts more than 20 scientific and technological experiments, including studying the effects of space on human health and the seeding technology they started with.
It is noteworthy that the journey of the Saudi astronauts comes within the framework of the Kingdom’s programme for astronauts, which aims to qualify experienced Saudi cadres for space flights and to participate in conducting scientific experiments, international research, and future missions related to the space sector.
