Kuwaiti astronomer enters NASA and ESA orbit with 50 cosmic shots
Abdullah Al-Harbi becomes the first Gulf Arab to publish with space agencies.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
From the sands of the Gulf to the nebulae of deep space, Kuwaiti researcher Abdullah Al-Harbi’s passion for stargazing has evolved from a mere hobby into a scientific endeavor embraced by the world’s leading space agencies.
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) published 50 of Al-Harbi’s photographs on their official websites, featuring them across main and subpages. He became the first Gulf Arab whose images were published in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day section, one of the most prolific Arab astronomical photographers in terms of the number of publications on the site, and the first Gulf Arab to collaborate with the European Space Agency.
Through his participation in the Oman Science Festival 2026, representing the Kuwait National Center for Space Research—a center under the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences—Al-Harbi encourages young Gulf Arabs to engage in astrophotography to support astronomical research, enhance understanding of cosmic changes, and promote community involvement in observation, documentation, and data collection in collaboration with scientific centers and specialized institutions.
