UAE set for new space success in ’23: Astronauts

Yamama Badwan, Staff Reporter

UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi have affirmed that after a few months, specifically in the spring of 2023, the UAE will achieve a new success in space.

This came in a video clip posted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre on Twitter on the third anniversary of the first Emirati mission to the International Space Station. 

“Three years ago, specifically on September 25, 2019, Hazza travelled into space and I participated in the reserve crew, but in 2023 our date will be with a new mission,” said Al Neyadi.

Meanwhile, Al Mansouri said: “After a few months, my brother Sultan will carry out the first long-term mission for Arab astronauts. In 2023, Sultan will launch and I will be part of the reserve crew. Our date is with a new success, God willing.”

Al Neyadi is preparing for the first long-term Emirati mission aboard the International Space Station in the spring of 2023 as part of the NASA and SpaceX Crew-6 mission. During the mission, he will conduct many in-depth and advanced scientific experiments under the ‘UAE Astronaut Programme’ to train and prepare a team of Emirati astronauts and send them into space to carry out various scientific missions.

As part of his long-term trip to the International Space Station, Al Neyadi will be a member of a team of four main astronauts including Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg. Their mission will include conducting a series of experiments and research and reaching important scientific results about outer space.

Al Neyadi and Al Mansouri spent five years preparing for long-term human spaceflight, during which they underwent extensive training until they recently received the astronaut badge from NASA’s Johnson Space Centre.

Exercises started at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in the Star City of Moscow.

They also received training in Houston, Texas, and Cologne in Germany, as part of partnership agreements with major space agencies; namely, NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA).

Al Neyadi was also trained on the spacesuit, weighing up to 10 kg and how to wear at zero gravity.

Al Neyadi was also trained to perform daily tasks such as preparing food, how to use the camera to document events, taking pictures of the Earth, communicating with the ground stations, and other day-to-day tasks during the mission. AlNeyadi underwent more than 90 courses, with the total number of training hours exceeding 1,400 hours.

Al Neyadi was born on May 23, 1981, in Umm Ghafa, 30 kilometers southeast of Al Ain, in Abu Dhabi, where he received primary and secondary education.