Nora Al-Matrooshi is the first Muslim "Space girl"
The Muslim woman is on the verge of joining an elite group of astronauts. The UAE has announced Nora Al-Matrooshi, a 27-year-old Muslim woman, as one of the country's two new astronauts. She was chosen along with 33-year-old Mohammed Al-Mulla, a pilot.

Al Matrooshi is the first Muslim astronaut. There were only 65 women in space. She was selected from more than 4,000 candidates to prepare for future research missions in orbit. They form the second group of the UAE Astronaut Training Program. This was stated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and governor of Dubai on Twitter.

Al Matrooshi was born in 1993, got a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the United Arab Emirates. She is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, has a rich track record of volunteer work and outstanding achievements in the scientific field. She also won first place in the UAE at the 2011 International Mathematical Olympiad.

Al-Matrooshi and Al-Mulla will join astronauts Hazzaa Al-Mansouri and Sultan Al-Neyadi to form a four-person team as part of the UAE Astronaut Program. They serve at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), whose goal is to make the UAE one of the leading space exploration countries through its National Space Program.
It should be noted that after the selection, the newly minted UAE astronauts will train for at least three years before possible selection for a future mission. Al-Matrooshi and Al-Mulla will begin training in the UAE and then move on to a 30 — month course at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

They will receive spacewalk training, language training (especially Russian), and systems training aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

 Astronauts will be trained in the following skills:

1) Human spaceflight;

2) Space flight research and control;

3) Performing missions in low Earth orbit;

4) Preparing for a spacewalk;

5) Training of systems on the International Space Station (ISS);

6) Language training (especially Russian).

The cosmonaut training program will teach the management of different processes on the International Space Station, including simulated Spacewalks and long-term stays, as well as training in basic systems, robotics, extravehicular activity, survival on water and land, knowledge of the Russian language and other theoretical basics.