Emirati astronaut Neyadi captures sandstorm sweeping across Sahara desert from ISS

Syed Shayaan Bakht, Staff Reporter

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi took a group of fascinating pictures of the Sahara Desert from the International Space Station.

Neyadi wrote on Twitter, “From so far away, I am constantly reminded of the beauty of our planet. One of my favourite activities on the ISS is getting behind the lens for Earth observation, capturing breathtaking sights that can only be witnessed from space.

“I'm delighted to share this recent image I clicked of a sandstorm, sweeping across the enchanting Sahara desert."

On Wednesday evening, Neyadi and ISS crew received supplies for the future.

The young Emirati wrote, “The latest shipment from SpaceX’s 27th resupply services mission weighing in at more than 2,850 kg had all the basic supplies necessary for life on board the ISS.

“In addition to fresh food and hardware, 40% of the shipment consisted of multiple scientific and research investigations.

“These photos capture the Dragon spacecraft carrying the cargo, approaching the ISS before docking.”

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre shared an image with the caption, “Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi's first haircut aboard the International Space Station.

The hair trimmer, utilised by Sultan's colleague NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, has a suction device which prevents hair from floating and contaminating the microgravity environment aboard the ISS.”

The photo shows astronaut Rubio carefully trims Neyadi hair as he calmly sits and enjoys the moment.  

Neyadi has been having a week with conducting series of experiments.

His latest test was on cardiovascular health.

He said, “As part of my set of experiments on the ISS, I was excited to take part in the "Cardinal Heart 2.0" study by Stanford University. Through this experiment, we are exploring the effects of clinical drugs on heart cells in microgravity using heart tissues.

“Discoveries from such studies could help prevent cardiovascular risk for space explorers and patients with heart disease on Earth.”

Neyadi even shared photos of his workout sessions aboard the ISS.

The astronaut, who has made history by embarking on the longest Arab space mission, said, “On Earth, exercising is important. In space, it's vital. Aboard the International Space Station, we exercise for 2.5 hours every day to avoid muscle atrophy and bone loss triggered by microgravity.”

Al Neyadi has been sharing his day-to-day work.

Nasa said astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and his Crew-6 colleagues have started to work on their tasks aboard the ISS.

The four Crew-6 members are two NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Russian cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, and Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.

The crew will spend six months on the station, where they will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations, according to SpaceX.
The mission was the first space flight for Neyadi, Hoburg and Fedyaev.

Neyadi, 41, is the fourth astronaut from an Arab country and the second from the oil-rich UAE to journey to space.

Fedyaev is the second Russian cosmonaut to fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket. NASA astronauts fly regularly to the station on Russian Soyuz craft.

Space has remained a rare venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington since the Russian offensive in Ukraine placed them in sharp opposition.