Nora Al Matrooshi

Nora AlMatrooshi
نورا المطروشي
AlMatrooshi in 2022
Born	1993 (age 31–32) Emirate of Sharjah, UAE
Status	Active
Space career
MBRSC astronaut
Selection	MBRSC Group 2 (2021) NASA Group 23 (2021)

Nora AlMatrooshi (Arabic: نورا المطروشي; born 1993) is the first Emirati and Arab woman astronaut, selected as part of the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme. In 2024, she graduated from the NASA Astronaut Candidate Class training programme and received her astronaut pin, establishing her as a fully qualified astronaut prepared for future space missions.

Education and Professional Career

AlMatrooshi holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United Arab Emirates University and completed a semester at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Professionally, she has worked as a piping engineer at the National Petroleum Construction Company, contributing to projects for ADNOC and Saudi Aramco. She also served as vice president of the Youth Council at the National Petroleum Construction Company for three consecutive years and later worked as a Technical Specialist at ADNOC.

AlMatrooshi has been recognised for her exceptional abilities in engineering and mathematics, having been part of the UAE team for the 2011 International Mathematical Olympiad. In 2013, she was selected as part of the UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme in South Korea. Her passion for empowering the youth has led her to implement various projects and represent the UAE in the UN International Youth Conference in both 2018 and 2019.

Inspiration

Inspired by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and astronaut Neil Armstrong, AlMatrooshi lives by the motto 'Do what makes you happy.' She dreams of elevating the UAE's reputation in the global space sector and aspires to land on the Moon aboard an Emirati spacecraft. In her personal time, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and horseback riding.

The UAE Astronaut Programme

The UAE Astronaut Programme is one of the projects managed by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) under the UAE’s National Space Programme and funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). The Programme aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE and foster the country’s global integration.

AlMatrooshi was one of two astronauts selected from over 4,000 applicants in the second batch of the programme, launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Training

AlMatrooshi underwent extensive training at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), which included swimming, scuba diving, survival exercises, and stamina improvement, before joining NASA's 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Her training covered five major categories: spacewalking at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, robotics, ISS systems, piloting the T-38 jet, and Russian language lessons. She also engaged in advanced training exercises such as survival training at Alabama's Fort Novosel and lessons on Earth’s geology, vital for understanding geological structures on other planets.

See also

• Timeline of space travel by nationality
• UAE Space Agency

Further reading

• Bartels, Meghan (2021-08-11). "The United Arab Emirates has 2 new astronauts. They're shooting for the moon". Space.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.