Axiom-2 crew, including first Saudi Arabian woman in orbit, returns to Earth safely

Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Arab woman astronaut, along with a team of two Americans and two Saudis, returned safely to Earth on Tuesday night, after spending eight days on the International Space Station as a part of the historic research mission.

Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al Qarni scripted history by becoming the first Saudi astronauts to go on a mission to the orbiting outpost.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, that was carrying the astronauts, made a parachute-assisted splashdown into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, after a 12-hour return flight and smouldering re-entry descent through Earth's atmosphere.

The splashdown was telecastlive by a joint webcast presented by SpaceX and Axiom Space, which is the company behind the mission.

The Axiom 2 crew was led by 63-year-old Peggy Whitson, who is a retired NASA astronaut and also holds the USrecord for most time spent in orbit, with 665 days in space over three long-duration missions to the ISS, including ten spacewalks. She now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.

"That was a phenomenal ride. We really enjoyed all of it," Whitson radioed to mission controllers after the capsule splashed down.

Ax-2's assigned pilot was 67-year-old John Shoffner. He is an aviator, race car driver and investor from Alaska.

Rounding offthe crew as mission specialists were the first two astronauts from Saudi Arabia to fly aboard a private spacecraft - Ali Alqarni, 31, a fighter pilot for the Royal Saudi Air Force; and Rayyanah Barnawi, 34, a biomedical scientist in cancer stem-cell research.

Rayyanah Barnawi bids emotional farewellto space station

Taking to Twitter, Barnawi bid an emotional farewell to the space station saying, "Every story comes to an end".

"Every story comes to an end, and this is only the beginning of a new era for our country and our region.. thanks to everyone who have helped us," she wrote.

Who is Barnawi, the first Arab woman to go on a space mission?

Axiom Space's biography highlights Rayyanah Barnawi's remarkable career. She was born in 1988 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and has a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences from Otago University in New Zealand and a Master of Biomedical Sciences from Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia. She is a biomedical researcher with almost ten years of expertise in the study of cancer stem cells.

(With inputs from agencies)

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