Sultan Al Neyadi to spend six months on the ISS
Sultan Al Neyadi will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS). The mission launches in spring 2023 and the UAE will become the 11th country in history to send its citizen on such a long-term space journey.
Sultan Al Neyadi is one of the first two astronauts trained by the United Arab Emirates. He was a stand-in for Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati astronaut to travel to the ISS in September 2019.
Back in April, the UAE signed an agreement to send the first Arab astronaut to orbit Earth for 182 days on a SpaceX Crew-6 spacecraft. Sultan Al Neyadi will be met on the ISS by a crew of Russian, European and American astronauts.
On board the ISS, the Emirati will conduct a series of complex and in-depth experiments as well as carrying out a series of educational programmes. In May 2022, Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi received their NASA astronaut badges after completing a 20-month training course at the Johnson Space Center.
Today, the UAE’s astronaut squad consists of four people: Hazza Al Mansouri, Sultan Al Neyadi, police helicopter pilot Mohammed Al Mulla and the first Arab female astronaut Nora Al Matrushi.
In November 2022, a Falcon 9 rocket is due to launch from Cape Canaveral to send the Emirati 10kg lunar rover Rashid into space. The expedition is planned to use Japan’s ispace landing module.
Source: Khaleej Times
Follow our Telegram Chanel
