Al Neyadi prepares to return after 4,000 hours in space

Yamama Badwan, Staff Reporter

Sultan Al Neyadi will return to Earth after spending 4,000 hours in space on the longest mission of Arab astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS), achieving a new Emirati-Arab achievement.

Al Neyadi conducted 200 experiments and scientific studies in cooperation with 5 international space agencies, and 19 experiments of Emirati universities, in the fields of evaluating the effect of microgravity on the interaction between the heart and body position.

He also studied the cells of the mouth and teeth on Earth in an environment which simulates microgravity.

According to NASA, Al Neyadi and the “Crew 6” astronauts are preparing to receive the “Crew 7” team.

 Crew 7 will be launched to the ISS at 3:56pm UAE time on Aug.17.

The station management tasks will be handed over to the Crew 7 team for nearly a week and then Al Neyadi, with 3 other astronauts, will return to Earth at the end of August aboard the “Dragon” spaceship, on a journey, which takes 6-30 hours.

NASA clarified that Al Neyadi and his colleagues are preparing on Aug.4 to receive 3.7 tonnes of scientific supplies aboard the Cygnus spacecraft, which will be launched from the US state of Virginia on Aug.1.

Al Neyadi posted on Twitter a picture of “Taal” volcano in the Philippines, which appeared as if it was a painting.

He tweeted, “Greetings to the Philippines. This photo was taken from space of “Taal” volcano, one of the smallest volcanoes in the world and the second most active volcano in the Philippines.”

It is worth noting that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre organises on Monday at 11am, the last radio contact with Al Neyadi, at the headquarters of the Emirates Radio Amateurs Association in Badi’a area of Sharjah, before they return to Earth.

In May, Al Neyadi shared a wonderful picture of the capital, Abu Dhabi from the ISS, and commented on it, “ Here is the heart of our beloved home, the UAE.”

“A city with a vibrant present and promising future. The capital of our nation #AbuDhabi.”

 The photo was taken from ISS as it travelled over the UAE.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre shared another photo of Neyadi and his colleague.

The Space Centre said, “A photo of astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and his colleague Warren Hoburg holding the tools used to open the “Unity” module space-facing side aboard the International Space Station.”

Recently, the Emirati astronaut shared a breathtaking video of Egypt from the ISS and extended his greetings to the warm people of Egypt.

Al Neyadi recalled the golden words late Sheikh Zayed once has said about the country.

Al Neyadi tweeted, “The words of Late Sheikh Zayed, ‘Egypt’s renaissance is a renaissance for all Arabs,’ remain just as powerful and relevant today as when they were first spoken. His enduring love for Egypt has seeped into the heart of Emiratis nation-wide. As I gaze down from space on this land, I extend my greetings to Egypt and its warm people.”

In the video Al Neyadi zooms in on Egypt as it looked from the ISS during nighttime.

A week ago Al Neyadi shared a picture of Planet Earth from the ISS with the landscape of the UAE clearly visible.

Al Neyadi said, “No matter where I am in the world, my path always leads me home. And even from Space, the site of our beautiful country takes my breath away every time.”

The stunning image shows the geographical area of the UAE along with neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Neyadi has also shared a video of a mobile tablet rotating in the certain directions with a little force.

Al Neyadi explained how objects rotate in the space, where the gravity is zero.

He noted that the direction of rotation relies on the position of the object.