UAE’s first Arab woman astronaut-in-training chases childhood dream
- Nora al-Matrooshi was one of two Emiratis picked from thousands of applicants as the Gulf nation looks to the stars
- She will later this year travel to the United States to train at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center
Nora al-Matrooshi, from the UAE, is the first Arab woman to start training to be an astronaut, one of two Emiratis picked from thousands of applicants as the Gulf nation looks to the stars.
The 28-year-old mechanical engineer from Sharjah – one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates – has dreamt about space since she was a girl, learning about planets and stars at school.
And while there are no space missions scheduled, she hopes to have the opportunity to one day visit space, continuing the tradition of exploration begun by her sailor ancestors.
If I can do it, then so can you. If no one has done it before you, then just go ahead and be the first
“My mum’s side of the family are sailors. I’d say they explored the ocean. The term ‘astronaut’ means ‘star sailor’ in Greek,” said the softly-spoken Matrooshi.
Matrooshi and her fellow national, Mohammad al-Mulla, 33, will later this year head to the United States to train at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center.
They now join Sultan al-Neyadi and Hazza al-Mansoori in the Emirati fellowship of astronauts.
The two Emiratis are currently training in-house in the emirate of Dubai, from learning to speak Russian to flying lessons.
