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World Awaits Launch of Saudi Astronauts' Mission to ISS

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Bernawi and Ali al-Qarni (SPA)
Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Bernawi and Ali al-Qarni (SPA)
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World Awaits Launch of Saudi Astronauts' Mission to ISS

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Bernawi and Ali al-Qarni (SPA)
Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Bernawi and Ali al-Qarni (SPA)

Saudi astronauts, Rayyanah Bernawi and Ali al-Qarni, completed their final preparations as part of the AX-2 crew for the launch of their mission at the International Space Station (ISS), which will be launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft.

The historic flight is a turning point in the Saudi space sector, being part of Saudi Arabia's Astronauts Program, launched on September 22, 2022.

The Saudi astronauts will conduct 14 scientific and research experiments during their mission to the ISS, contributing to scientific research.

The new mission affirms Saudi Arabia's ambition to benefit from space in all fields, as it is a giant future sector with global visions of sustainability, technology, and scientific research.

Saudi Arabia achieved several developments in this sector to be among the new space leadership, adopting its emerging activities while providing the infrastructure needed to ensure the sector's empowerment and prosperity.

NASA had announced that Bernawi and Qarni would take off in Spring 2023 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX rocket towards the ISS, accompanied by John Schofner and Peggy Whitson.

The Saudi astronauts will conduct various experiments and studies during the space mission.

They will investigate changes in vital indicators in the blood that reflect functional brain tissues during short-term space missions and determine the safety of such trips for the brain.

Additionally, they will measure the effect of short-term space flights on telomere length and conduct a mydriasis experiment to measure intracranial pressure. Other investigations will focus on enhancing knowledge of spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) by measuring electrical activity in the brain using EEG and studying the diameter of the optic nerve envelope for astronauts.

The mission will also explore cerebral perfusion and postural adjustments of the brain in microgravity using near-infrared spectroscopy as a non-invasive technique.

The official logo of the Kingdom's scientific mission to the ISS is a circular shape featuring the Saudi flag and says "Saudi Arabia towards space" alongside the names of the two Saudi astronauts.

The logo embodies the noble goals of the Kingdom's scientific mission, centered around empowering people, protecting the planet, and opening new horizons through the research the astronauts will conduct in health and environmental sustainability.

The logo will be placed on the official uniform of the crew, as it is customary for all space flights to have an official logo for each mission before the team leaves the planet Earth into space.

Earlier this month, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Bernawi, al-Qarni, Mariam Fardous, and Ali al-Ghamdi, before the launch of the Kingdom's scientific mission to the International Space Station.

The Crown Prince welcomed the crew, reiterating the importance of the space sector as a significant pillar in enhancing the Kingdom's global competitiveness, emphasizing at the same time the significance of space exploration in serving science and humanity.

He also noted that the Saudi people are pinning great hopes on Bernawi and Qarni as ambassadors and representatives of the Kingdom at the ISS in a mission with noble objectives to empower humanity, protect the planet and open new horizons for research in health and a sustainable environment.

The space sector represents an economic force and includes developing and providing space products and services to end users. It also constitutes a long chain of added values from research and development through space equipment manufacturers to providers of space products and services.

According to the 2018 Stanley Morgan report, the size of the space industry in the world is valued at over $350 billion, while it is expected to generate $ 1.1 trillion in 2040 and about $2.7 trillion by 2050.

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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.