A special mission that includes two Saudi astronauts, one of whom is a woman, will leave Florida for the first time on May 8, heading to the International Space Station , according to officials at Axiom Space and the US Space Agency ( NASA ) announced Thursday.

Rayana Barnawi, a researcher working on breast cancer, will become the first Saudi woman to go into space. She is accompanied by astronaut Ali Al-Qarni.

The mission also includes Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has flown three times to the International Space Station, and John Shoffner, an American contractor who will lead the flight.

The mission, called Axiom Mission 2, will depart on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 22:43 on May 8 (2:43 GMT on May 9) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. .

She will use the Dragon capsule from SpaceX to reach the International Space Station, where she will spend 10 days.

This mission is the second to the international station organized by the American company "Axiom Space".

A first mission called "Axiom Mission 1" carried three businessmen and a former astronaut for two weeks to the International Station in April 2022.

This journey into space, with the participation of a Saudi woman, is part of the Kingdom's conservative strategy to improve its image.

But it is not the first task for Saudi Arabia. In 1985, Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman participated in an American mission.

The United Arab Emirates also participated in space missions. And last month, the Emirati pioneer, Sultan Al Neyadi, set off for the international station for a six-month stay.