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Noura Al-Matroushi Is On Path To Become The First Arab Woman In Space
Noura Al-Matroushi was selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with the NASA Astronaut Group 23 of astronauts for future space exploration missions.
Following the recent success of the Emirates Mars Mission, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has just announced the name of the first Arab female astronaut, Noura Al-Matroushi.
Al-Matrooshi was selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with the NASA Astronaut Group 23 of astronauts for future space exploration missions. A mechanical engineer by training, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the United Arab Emirates University and also studied at the Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) in Finland and Hanyang University in Seoul.
Since 2016, Al-Matrooshi works as a piping engineer at the UAE’s National Petroleum Construction Company. In addition to her previous work experience and education, she also stood out from the rest of the candidates thanks to her IQ and personality.
Emirates News Agency
Al-Matrooshi will be training together with her male counterpart, Mohammed Al-Mulla. Born in 1988, Al-Mulla is a pilot at the Air Wing Center, and he has more than 1,500 flight hours under his belt. He has been able to spend so much time in the air because he became the youngest pilot in Dubai Police at 19 years of age.
The two astronauts in training will be preparing for a long stay in space and everything that goes along with it, including spacewalks, spaceflight control, and missions in low orbit involving robotics.
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Currently, the United Arab Emirates has four astronauts (counting Noura Al-Matroushi and Mohammed Al-Mulla) serving under the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), a Dubai government organization working on the UAE space program.
There’s a lot of responsibility on their shoulders because the gulf country would like to become a leading space exploration nation. If Noura Al-Matroushi and Mohammed Al-Mulla successfully complete their training, they can not only make this ambitious goal come true but also inspire a new generation of astronauts.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
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Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
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