Arab News Japan

DUBAI: Emirati Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi spent a week training at Tsukuba with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in preparation for his upcoming mission in 2023.

Al Neyadi is a member of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6, which will embark on a six-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by Spring of next year.

He was selected among other Emirati astronaut to be the first Arab astronaut to engage in a long-term space mission to the ISS and will serve as a mission specialist.

In October, the Mohammed Bin Rashed Space Center (MBRSC) released photos of Al Neyadi training in a mockup of the Dragon spacecraft at SpaceX’s headquarters in California.

Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi, Mission specialist, Crew-6, trained inside a mockup of the Dragon spacecraft at SpaceX's headquarters in California, USA, where he continues his preparations for the first Arab long-duration astronaut mission.
#UAEAstronautProgramme pic.twitter.com/vzDn6cKOjp

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) October 18, 2022

During the mission, Al Neyadi will conduct several advanced scientific experiments as part of the UAE Astronaut Programme.

Crew-6 will be the sixth operational astronaut mission that SpaceX flies to the ISS for NASA.

The UAE will become the 11th country in history to send a long-term mission to space.

The Gulf country is also planning on sending the first UAE moon rover, which is set to blast off “no earlier than Dec. 11” after a series of tests were conducted on the SpaceX rocket.