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Famous Emiratis

Nora AlMatrooshi

Nora AlMatrooshi was selected in 2021 from 4,305 applicants for the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, the first Emirati and Arab woman astronaut. She trained at NASA's Johnson Space Center and graduated as a qualified astronaut in 2024.

Updated October 2026 · Facts checked 22 October 2026

Selected as an astronaut
20211,2
Selected as an astronaut
Applicants for the second batch
4,3052
Applicants for the second batch
Graduated from NASA's class
20241
Graduated from NASA's class

Nora AlMatrooshi

At a glance

At a glance
Item Detail
Name in Arabic نورا المطروشي
Selected 2021, second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme
Education BSc Mechanical Engineering, UAE University
Qualified NASA Astronaut Candidate Class, 2024

Source: Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre: Nora AlMatrooshi; Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre: Missions and projects1,2

Background

AlMatrooshi studied mechanical engineering at UAE University, with a semester at Vaasa University of Applied Sciences in Finland. She worked as a piping engineer at the National Petroleum Construction Company on projects for ADNOC and Saudi Aramco, then as a technical specialist at ADNOC.1

Training

She joined NASA's 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class in Houston, training in spacewalks at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, robotics, ISS systems and flying the T-38 jet, with survival training at Fort Novosel, Alabama, and Earth geology. She earned her astronaut pin in 2024.1

Sources

  1. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre: Nora AlMatrooshi
  2. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre: Missions and projects

Facts checked 22 October 2026. Prepared by Invest-Emirates.ae for general information.

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