Saudi Space Experiment to Increase Artificial Seeding

The Saudi astronauts aim to carry out 14 scientific research experiments in several fields during their mission to the ISS.
The Saudi astronauts aim to carry out 14 scientific research experiments in several fields during their mission to the ISS.
TT
20

Saudi Space Experiment to Increase Artificial Seeding

The Saudi astronauts aim to carry out 14 scientific research experiments in several fields during their mission to the ISS.
The Saudi astronauts aim to carry out 14 scientific research experiments in several fields during their mission to the ISS.

Saudi Astronaut Ali al-Qarni began an artificial seeding experiment in space, which will contribute to the development of the technology used on the earth and raise its efficiency by more than 50%.

His colleague, Rayana Bernawi, shared a video of the Grand Mosque in Mecca from the International Space Station (ISS), to which they arrived on Monday, where they joined seven other astronauts who are already on board.

The Saudi astronauts aim to carry out 14 scientific research experiments in several fields during their mission to the ISS, which will include human medicine, biomedicine, and physics.

Al-Qarni appeared in a video he posted on his Twitter account, carrying a green box inside the Columbus unit, which he said was an artificial seeding experiment and prepared by Saudis.

“The cloud seeding will help us to raise the artificial raining rate by 50%,” he stated.

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, headed by Dr. Ashraf Farhat, and in cooperation with the Saudi Space Authority, is supervising this experiment, which aims to simulate the cloud seeding process that is used in Saudi Arabia and many countries to increase precipitation rates.

The experiment aims to help scientists and researchers to devise new ways to provide conditions suitable for humans - including artificial rain - to live in space colonies on the surface of the Moon and Mars. It will also contribute to improving researchers’ understanding of rain seeding technology, which will help to increase rainfall rates.

Saudi Arabia seeks to enhance water resources, develop vegetation, and benefit from renewable sources through the artificial cloud seeding program, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in February 2020.

The operational work of the program, which already completed three phases, has achieved a success rate of more than 97 percent. Preliminary studies of rainfall point to precipitation amounts amounting to 3.5 billion cubic meters of water in the targeted areas, according to Dr. Ayman Ghulam, CEO of the National Center for Meteorology, the program supervisor.

For her part, Bernawi shared a video clip on Twitter showing the Holy Mosque of Makka from the ISS.

“After I finished my experiments for today, we happened to pass over Makka Al-Mukarramah,” she said.

On Thursday, Bernawi began her first scientific experiment, by testing the response of immune cells to infections using the live experiment box.



France Bans Smoking in Beaches, in Parks and Bus Shelters

A beachgoer smokes a cigarette on the beach at La Baule on the Atlantic coast, France, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
A beachgoer smokes a cigarette on the beach at La Baule on the Atlantic coast, France, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
TT
20

France Bans Smoking in Beaches, in Parks and Bus Shelters

A beachgoer smokes a cigarette on the beach at La Baule on the Atlantic coast, France, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
A beachgoer smokes a cigarette on the beach at La Baule on the Atlantic coast, France, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

France will ban smoking on beaches and in parks, public gardens and bus shelters from Sunday, the government said.

The decree, published in the official government gazette Saturday, will also ban smoking outside libraries, swimming pools and schools, and is aimed at protecting children from passive smoking.

Health and family minister Catherine Vautrin said in May that tobacco must disappear where there are children.

The freedom to smoke "stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts", she said.

Offenders face a fine of up to €135 ($154), Vautrin added.

The ban will not extend to France's iconic cafe terraces however, the minister said.

Electronic cigarettes, which have boomed in France in recent years, are also not covered.

An estimated 35 percent of France's population are smokers – higher than the averages for Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization.

Around 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France.