Saudi-crewed Axiom space mission delayed: ISS

The Axiom 2 space mission featuring two Saudi astronauts, including the first Arab woman in space, has been postponed.

NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX are “working together to identify the best available opportunity to launch the Axiom Mission 2,” the International Space Station said in a statement Wednesday.

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“We are no longer targeting opportunities in early May,” it added, without specifying a new date for the launch to the ISS.

The mission was set on May 8 at 9:43 p.m. central time (CT) carrying two Saudi astronauts and mission specialists, Ali al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, as well as two others.

The quartet was scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft using SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The upcoming space mission comes nearly 40 years after Saudi Arabia sent the first Arab - Prince Sultan bin Salman - to space in 1985.

To make the Ax-2 mission a reality, the astronauts are undergoing rigorous training and preparation, including a simulation of living for 12 days in space, and participation in the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), an intensive training program.

“The Ax-2 crew is ready for their mission to the @space_station,” Axiom Space said in a statement on Wednesday.

When the mission launches, the crew members will conduct a variety of experiments from DNA nano therapeutics to cancer research in low-Earth orbit. The team will also look into cloud seeding in microgravity and the impact of microgravity on producing stem cells.

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