Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has reached the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in preparation for his historic trip to the International Space Station.
On February 27, Al Neyadi will take off with his three Crew-6 colleagues on what will be the Arab world’s inaugural long-duration space mission.
Al Neyadi and his colleagues will be in outer space during Ramadan, as the mission is planned to last for a duration of six months.
UAE space mission
During the mission, a total of 250 research experiments will be performed, including a minimum of 20 conducted by Al Neyadi himself in addition to the duties assigned to him by NASA. He will also be responsible for performing maintenance tasks on the orbiting station.
Al Neyadi and his three astronaut colleagues held a press conference at the Kennedy Space Station where they spoke to the media.
When asked how he plans to represent Emirati culture in space, Al Neyadi hinted at an upcoming special announcement.
He mentioned that although it has yet to be announced or revealed, they have a lot of plans in store. One thing he plans to do is share some Emirati food on board, particularly dates, which he loves.
“I’m going to take dates, and hopefully I’m going to share this with everybody, especially in Ramadan,” he said.
“This is a request from the commander and I cannot say no to my commander”.
The Emirati astronaut acknowledged the legacy of Arabs in space, citing Prince Sultan bin Salman of Saudi Arabia as the first Arab to venture into space, as well as a Syrian astronaut in 1987.
With Hazzaa Al Mansoori having been the second Arab in space in 2019, Al Neyadi will become the fourth Arab to journey to space when he takes off later this week.
Later this year, the Al Neyadi will be accompanied at the International Space Station by male and female astronauts from Saudi Arabia, which reflects the rising interest and significance of the Middle East in global space exploration and research.
The Saudi Space Commission had previously disclosed that Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Alqarni would be included in the Ax-2 mission to the ISS. This mission is planned to be launched no sooner than May on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
“Our region is thirsty to learn more and I think we will be the ambassadors in these missions. Hopefully, we can come back with knowledge and share whatever we learn with everybody,” said Al Neyadi.
