The astronauts of "Axiom 2" arrived on Earth, Wednesday, at the end of a 10-day research mission aboard the International Space Station. The Saudi Commission welcomed the return of Ali Al-Qarni and Rayana Barnawi in a tweet on "Twitter": "A land is proud of you, and a people is proud of you. Our heroic astronauts return to Earth after the success of their scientific mission at the International Space Station."
The return trip concludes the second mission to the space station that was organized, equipped and trained by Axiom Space, a Houston-based company launched seven years ago and headed by the former International Space Station Program Director at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The Axiom 2 crew led retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson (63 years old), who holds the record as the most American in space by 665 days during three long missions to the International Space Station, which included ten space swims. The second American, John Choffner, 67, is a pilot, race car driver and investor from Alaska.
As for the two Saudis, they are Ali Al-Qarni, 31, a fighter pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force, and Rayana Barnawi, 34, a biomedical scientist specializing in cancer stem cell research. They are the first two astronauts from the Kingdom ever to go up to space on a private vehicle.
Al-Qarni and Rayana's stay at the International Space Station coincided with the presence of the Emirati Sultan Al-Neyadi, a member of the (Mission 69) crew, which is the first time that there are three Arab astronauts on board the station together.
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