Growing up, Nora AlMatrooshi shared the same awe of the cosmos as her predecessors, spending her days marveling at the stars and envisioning journeys to the Moon.
This week, she achieved a historic milestone as the first Arab woman to complete NASA’s rigorous training program, poised to embark on a voyage beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
AlMatrooshi, aged 30, fondly recalls a childhood lesson that ignited her passion for space exploration. Her teacher ingeniously recreated a lunar expedition in their classroom, crafting makeshift spacesuits and simulating the lunar landscape.
“We stepped out of the tent, and the classroom was enveloped in darkness. Covered in gray cloth, it felt like we were truly standing on the Moon’s surface,” AlMatrooshi recounted.
“That day resonated with me, and it stuck with me. And I remember thinking, ‘This is amazing. I actually want to do this for real, I want to actually get to the surface of the Moon.’ And that’s when it all started,” she recalled, adorned in a blue flight suit bearing her name and the UAE flag.
A mechanical engineer by profession with experience in the oil industry, AlMatrooshi was selected as one of two astronaut candidates by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) in 2021 to participate in a rigorous training program with NASA, the US space agency.
After two years of intensive training, which included simulated spacewalks and numerous challenges, AlMatrooshi, alongside her compatriot Mohammad AlMulla and 10 others from their training cohort, has emerged as a fully qualified astronaut.
The group, dubbed “The Flies,” are now qualified for NASA missions to the International Space Station (ISS), Artemis launches to the Moon, and, potentially, even missions to Mars.
Earlier this year, the UAESA unveiled plans to construct the airlock—a specialized gateway—for Gateway, the space station being developed to orbit the Moon.
“I want to propel humanity beyond its current limits. I aspire for humanity to return to the Moon and venture even farther beyond,” expressed AlMatrooshi.
“And I am determined to be an integral part of that odyssey.”
While AlMatrooshi is the first Arab woman to graduate from NASA, other Arab women have already embarked on private space missions. This includes Saudi biomedical researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, who flew to the ISS with Axiom Space last year, and Egyptian-Lebanese engineer Sara Sabry, who was part of the crew on a Blue Origin suborbital flight in 2022.
AlMatrooshi, who wears a hijab as part of her Muslim faith, shared that NASA developed a method to accommodate her religious practice while wearing the agency’s iconic white space suit and helmet, officially known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU.
“When you put on the EMU, you wear a communications cap (fitted with microphones and speakers), which… covers your hair,” she explained.
The challenge arises in the brief interval after AlMatrooshi removes her regular hijab and before she puts on the communications cap. Adding complexity, only authorized materials are permitted to be worn inside the EMU.
“The suit engineers improvised a hijab for me, allowing me to put it on, don the suit, then wear the comm cap. Afterward, I could remove it, and my hair would remain covered. I’m truly grateful for their accommodation,” AlMatrooshi explained.
With her tailored suit, AlMatrooshi is poised to venture into space alongside her fellow astronauts.
NASA’s plans include returning humans to the Moon’s surface in 2026 for the Artemis 3 mission.
“I believe that becoming an astronaut is challenging, irrespective of one’s religion or background,” she shared.
“I don’t think being a Muslim made it more difficult. However, being a Muslim has made me appreciate the contributions of my ancestors, the Muslim scholars and scientists who preceded me in studying the stars.
“My journey to becoming an astronaut is a continuation of the legacy they established thousands of years ago,” AlMatrooshi affirmed.
