Nora Al Matrooshi was the first Arab female astronaut, chosen from hundreds of applicants for the UAE Astronaut Programme’s second class in April 2021.
نعتز بألمع نساء العالم العربي لعام ٢٠٢١ وبالأخص، @Astronaut_Nora المتميّزة بخبرتها الواسعة، قدراتها القيادية ومؤهلاتها الفريدة. نورا. أول رائدة فضاء اماراتية ستحمل الوطن والأجيال القادمة إلى أفق جديد. pic.twitter.com/dos3YML6GG
— Salem AlMarri سالم حميد المري (@Salem_HAlMarri) February 6, 2022
She is a mechanical engineer from the United Arab Emirates University who hopes to further improve the UAE’s space sector and eventually land on the Moon on an Emirati spaceship. Nora will now begin a 2-year training programme at NASA in Houston, Texas, in 2022, representing Arab women in the worldwide aerospace sector.
Other women on the Forbes list include Najla Bouden, Tunisia’s and the Arab world’s first female prime minister; Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur; and Mona Ataya and Leena Khalil, cofounders of e-commerce startup Mumzworld.
