UAE selects first Arab astronaut to embark on 6-month space station mission

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UAE selects first Arab astronaut to embark on 6-month space station mission

UAE selects first Arab astronaut to embark on 6-month space station mission

Sultan Al-Neyadi spent the last four years in intensive training as one of the country's first two astrounauts. (Dubai Media Office)

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25 Jul 2022 10:07:39 GMT9

Sultan Al-Neyadi will commence on his mission in 2023

Arab News

DUBAI: The UAE has selected Sultan Al-Neyadi to become the first Arab astronaut to participate in a six-month mission in the International Space Station, Dubai Media Office reported on Monday.

Al-Neyadi, selected from a pool of over 4,000 candidates to become one of the country’s first two astronauts in 2018, will commence on his mission in 2023.

The venture places the UAE as the 11th country to send a long-term mission to space, according to Dubai Media Office’s statement.

Congratulating Al-Neyadi, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said, “This historic milestone builds on the strong foundations of the UAE’s burgeoning space programme.”

نبارك لسلطان النيادي اختياره أول رائد فضاء عربي يمضي 6 أشهر في محطة الفضاء الدولية ضمن مهمة الوكالة الأمريكية "ناسا" التي تنطلق ربيع 2023.. مهمة تضع الإمارات الدولة الــ 11 عالميا التي ترسل روادها في مهمة طويلة الأمد للفضاء، خطوة نوعية طموحة تجسد قدرات أبنائنا وإمكانياتهم.
— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 25, 2022

The UAE’s Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said Al-Neyadi was an example of youth “who raised our aspirations to the sky where the UAE deserves to be.”

من بين مجموعة من رواد الفضاء الإماراتيين في مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء، تم اختيار سلطان النيادي ليكون أول رائد فضاء عربي سيقضي مهمة طويلة تستغرق ٦ أشهر في محطة الفضاء الدولية العام المقبل باذن الله . شبابنا رفعوا رؤوسنا للسماء ..حيث مكان ومكانة دولة الإمارات المستحقة . pic.twitter.com/K0jksGjq0H
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 25, 2022

Al-Neyadi will be the second Emirati astronaut to fly to space, after Hazza Al-Mansouri spent eight days in the International Space Station in 2019 when he blasted into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Al-Neyadi will be part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission scheduled for launch in the first half of 2023 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.

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