UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi to be first Arab astronaut to spend 6 months on ISS

Agencies | Abu Dhabi                                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Sultan Al Neyadi will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months on the International Space Station. The Emirati will be part of a mission that will commence in 2023.

With this, the UAE will become the 11th country in history to send a long-term mission to space — a milestone achievement considering that the country is relatively new in the sector.

Congratulations are pouring in from the highest quarters for the astronaut, with the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leading the tributes.

“This historic milestone builds on the strong foundations of the UAE’s burgeoning space programme,” he tweeted.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also took to Twitter to share his pride in the Emirati astronaut’s achievement.

Sultan AlNeyadi is one of the first two astronauts from the UAE. He served as the back-up for Hazzaa AlMansoori for the country’s first mission to the ISS in September 2019.

AlNeyadi and AlMansoori were selected from 4,022 candidates to become the first Emirati astronauts after a series of tests.

Back in April, the UAE had signed an agreement to send the first Arab astronaut for a 182-day mission to the ISS.

The country had booked a spot for the Emirati to be part of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission scheduled for launch in 2023 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.

Long-term missions allow for in-depth and advanced experiments to be undertaken in space.