DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates has selected the first Arab
woman to train as an astronaut, as the Gulf country rapidly expands into the
space sector to diversify its economy.
اضافة اعلان
Emirati national Nora al-Matrooshi, a 27-year-old mechanical
engineering graduate currently working at Abu Dhabi's National Petroleum
Construction Company, will join NASA's 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class in the
United States.
The UAE is using its space program to develop its scientific
and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil.
In February a UAE probe reached the orbit of the planet
Mars, the Arab world's first interplanetary expedition. The UAE has plans to
launch a moon rover by 2024 and even a vision for a Mars settlement by 2117.
Matrooshi will be joined by another Emirati, Mohammed
al-Mulla, making a total of four people under the UAE Astronaut Program. They
include Hazza al-Mansouri who became the first Emirati in space in 2019 when he
flew to the International Space Station.
Nora was one of 4,300 applicants assessed on scientific
abilities, education and practical experience, and then on physical,
psychological and medical assessments, Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
(MBRSC) said.
The UAE launched a National Space Program in 2017 to develop
local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million, most of whom are foreign
workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big spacefaring
nations.
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