Saudi Arabia plans to send its first woman astronaut to the International Space Station later this year, according to Arab News. Rayyanah Barnawi and her male colleague Ali AlQarni will deploy from the United States aboard Axiom Space’s private mission to the ISS. The pair were part of the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program, which was created in partnership with Axiom and the Saudi Space Commission. “The step aims to empower Saudi capabilities in human spaceflight geared towards serving humanity and benefiting from the promising opportunities offered by the space industry,” the Saudi Press Agency said, according to Arab News.