The History Maker – Nora Al Matrooshi, the first female Emirati astronaut

THE HISTORY MAKER

As the first Emirati female astronaut, Nora Al Matrooshi is breaking boundaries that are literally out of this world

WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

Afew months ago, the UAE announced it had recruited the very first female Emirati astronaut who was revealed to be Nora Al Matrooshi. Alongside Mohammad Al Mulla, the duo makes up the second batch of astronauts as part of the UAE’s space programme. Having dreamt of becoming an astronaut since she was a child, Nora is now reaching for the stars – both figuratively and literally. Nora, alongside her space cadet Mohammed, recently made her first public media appearance at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre where they both discussed their honour and pride at being recruited into the space programme. As Nora gears up to make history for women in the region, here’s some key things you need to know about this budding astronaut.

Her inspiring words During her first media appearance on July 7, Nora shared some particularly inspiring words with the Dubai Media O ce.

“My message to everyone is if I can do it, you can do it,” she said. “And if no one has done it before then you can just go ahead and be the first, because if you have the ambition and drive you will find opportunities everywhere at any time.”

She is the rst female Arab astronaut Following her recruitment into the space programme, Nora has become the first female not only in the UAE but in the Arab world to become an astronaut. While the 28-year-old has become the first female Emirati and Arab astronaut, it was never her main goal to do so. While she was selected from over 4,000 candidates, she “didn’t really think about the fact there was no female astronaut [from the Arab world] before” her. “My main goal was to become an astronaut,” she said. “It wasn’t to be the first, or the second or the last.” Nora, along with her colleague Mohammed, simply wants to make it into space and walk on the moon.

She received a public congratulations from Sheikh Mohammed Upon the announcement of her recruitment as an astronaut for the UAE, Nora received public congratulations from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and the Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions,” His Highness said. “Congratulations Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla.”

She previously trained as an engineer A er obtaining her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UAE University in 2015, Sharjah-born Nora gained several years of experience in the field.

Nora also previously represented the UAE at the United Nations Youth Conference in summer 2018 and winter 2019.

She comes from a family of sailors, but she’s reaching for stars During the recent press conference, Nora explained that she comes from a family of sailors on her mother’s side. “My mum’s side of the family are sailors,” she said. “I’d say they explored the ocean. The term ‘astronaut’ means ‘star sailor’ in Greek.”

She’s one of only four astronauts representing the UAE There are currently four astronauts representing the UAE including Nora. She joins the UAE Astronaut Programme with four astronauts in total now including Hazzaa Al Mansoori and Sultan Al Neyadi who were previously recruited.

She’s been dreaming of becoming an astronaut since she was a child “I first started dreaming of becoming an astronaut when my teacher in kindergarten asked us to build a tent and pretend it was a spacecra that was taking us to the Moon,” she said during the recent press conference. “Since then I’ve become extremely passionate about becoming an astronaut.”

“I’ve been working in the oil and gas field for several years, but my dream about becoming an astronaut never went away,” she continued. “This is a life-changing opportunity. The dream I’ve had since a child has come true. Now, I’ve started dreaming bigger.”

IMAGES: GETTY / MOHAMMED BIN RASHID SPACE CENTRE