Noura Al Matrooshi To Become First Female Astronaut Of UAE

Noura Al Matrooshi has now been selected for United Arab Emirates' space program.

She will be the first female astronaut from the UAE for the country's space mission and will be accompanied by her male counterpart Mohammed Al Mulla. Their names were revealed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai who is also the country's prime minister and vice-president.

Checkout UAE ruler's tweet here:

We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions. Congratulations Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla. pic.twitter.com/bfyquyzqAJ

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 10, 2021

The announcement further revealed that both Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla were among the 4,300 candidates to be selected for the space program.

Now both of them will have to undergo training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The United Arab Emirates' space program has been a success ever since it was launched in 2019. Maj Hazzaa al-Mansoori became the UAE's first-ever astronaut in space. He had spent about eight days in the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019.

Besides this, the country's space program was successful in putting a satellite in orbit around Mars in February this year. The Arab country niw hopes to send an unmanned spacecraft on the moon by 2024.

The UAE is now working towards setting up a human colony on Mars by the year 2117.

More about Noura Al Matrooshi

Noura Al Matrooshi said she has been extremely passionate about space ever since she was a child. She enjoyed participating in stargazing events too.

Space was her passion since childhood... Nora AlMatrooshi, the new member of the UAE Astronaut Programme.#UAEAstronauts #UAEAstronautProgramme@Astronaut_Nora @TheUAETRA pic.twitter.com/TEW5uip0EK

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) April 10, 2021

She has secured a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from United Arab Emirates University and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She also secured the first rank in the UAE’s 2011 Math Olympiad.

Besides this, she is also an engineer at the National Petroleum Construction Company and had also served as the vice president for the company's youth council for almost five years.

Matrooshi is also known for her volunteering work and distinction in the field of science.