RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will send the first Saudi woman to space in 2023 as part of the Saudi Space Commission’s new space program, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday. 

The new space program will send a Saudi crew to space, marking a historical event for the country. 

The authority announced the launch of its astronaut program Thursday, which aims to produce qualified and experienced Saudi citizens that will take part in long and short-term space flights, participate in scientific experiments, international research and future space-related missions, according to SPA. 

The move is part of the Kingdom’s aim to allow its citizens take advantage of the promising opportunities available in the space sector globally and to contribute to research that serves humanity, SPA said. 

The new program comes under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030 and will fall under the National Space Strategy – the details of which will be announced in the coming months.