Okaz/Saudi Gazette

Riyadh — US space agency NASA has involved a Saudi engineer in its prestigious microgravity research project.

Mishaal Saeed Al-Shihrani and his team earned the best proposition among other participants to join the project.

Shihrani said the project they are working involves designing a device that can stop the force of gravity (zero gravity environment) for over 21 days.

This will help engineers and scientists in biological engineering to intricately analyze organic samples under a weak force of gravity, he added.

According to Shihrani, the device will be sent to space to compare results achieved on earth. The project is in its final stages and will be delivered at the end of this year, he said.

Shihrani is a mechanical engineer, and former Saudi Aramco employee.

He is currently studying at San Jose University in Silicon Valley.

He was born and raised in Bisha Governorate. The education he received there paved the way for his future accomplishments.

Shihrani, however, is not the first Saudi to join NASA.

Mishaal Ashemimry was the first Saudi woman to join US space agency.

Mishaal Ashemimry is an aerospace engineer, who serves as CEO of MISHAAL Aerospace based in Miami, Fla. The goal is to send small satellites into orbit with cost-effective space access vehicles known as the M-Rocket Series.