United Arab Emirates names its first female astronaut

The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts in its space programme including the country’s first female astronaut.

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Noura al-Matroushi has been identified as the UAE’s first woman astronaut, with her male counterpart as Mohammed al-Mulla.

The two will undergo training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

If al-Matroushi ends up going on a mission, she could become the first Arab woman in space.

In February 2021, the UAE put its Amal, or Hope, satellite in orbit around Mars, a first for the Arab world.

In 2024, the country hopes to put an unmanned spacecraft on the moon.

The UAE also has set the ambitious goal of building a human colony on Mars by 2117.