September 25 - First UAE astronaut begins flight to International Space Station

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced that September 25, 2019 will be the date of the launch of the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station, the first flight of an Arab astronaut to the station.

This is part of the Emirates Space Pioneers program launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces in 2017. Train and prepare a team of Emirati astronauts and send them to space for various scientific missions.

The details of the flight and the date of its launch were announced at a press conference held today at the Armani Hotel in Dubai, in which HE Yousef Hamad Al Shaibani, Director General of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center and Salim Al Marri, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs at the Center, Saif Al Nayadi is the first Emirati astronaut.
During the conference, he revealed the details of the UAE mission to the International Space Station. He explained that one of the astronauts would fly to the International Space Station on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, as part of a Russian space mission aboard the Soyuz MS 15 for 8 days on board He then returns to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS12 and the second astronaut will be an alternative to him and will continue training for other missions in the future.
HE Al Shaibani expressed his thanks and gratitude to the wise leadership which believed in the capabilities of the UAE youth and provided them with all the necessary capabilities for excellence within the Emirates Astronautics Program which is part of the National Space Program. General for the regulation of the telecommunications sector in support of the Emirates astronaut program.
"We are delighted to announce today the date of the launch of the first UAE astronaut to the International Space Station. This is an important step not only for the UAE but for the entire Arab world. For the first time, an Arab astronaut will travel to the International Space Station to restore the hope of the Arab youth to restore the glory of their ancestors, Astronomy .. This achievement confirms the advanced range achieved by the ambitions of the UAE and the extent of the determination of the people of the country to achieve the vision of the leadership that the impossible word is not found in the Emirates Dictionary in addition to support the directions of the State to explore space and prepare UAE cadres contribute The enrichment of scientific progress and human service and achieve greater achievements in the industry and science and space research to serve the aspirations of the ambitious in establishing the foundations of a national economy based on knowledge, innovation and creativity. "
For his part, Salem al-Marri said that the date of the flight had been postponed from April to September this year because of the accident suffered by the vehicle "Soyuzm 10" last October.

"The safety of astronauts is at the top of our list of priorities, so the date of the trip has been delayed until September 25 and we are delighted that the launch to the ISS will be in the course of this year, despite the hurdle we faced with our partners in the Russian space agency Roskosmos," he said.

Al-Marri said that for the first time, an astronaut will present an illustrated photo tour in Arabic to the International Space Station, where he will explain the components of the station and the equipment and equipment on board and the method of conducting experiments in the absence of gravity and experiments monitoring and photographing the planet Earth and interact with earth stations and the transfer of information and experiments, The daily life of the astronauts on board the station, stressing that the content of these tours will be a reference documented in Arabic and available to all interested in the space sector in the Arab world.
Al-Marri noted the astronaut's schedule during his stay on the International Space Station, which he described as going to be a mass of scientific activities and every hour of the day set for specific tasks to be performed.

"The astronaut will conduct research in various fields aimed at the participation of the international scientific community in data showing the effect of the lack of gravity on research experiments compared to the gravity of the earth. For example, The biological indicators of the human body within the station compared to the ground before and after the trip Here I would like to point out that for the first time will be this kind of research on someone from our Arab region, the UAE astronaut, where the results will be compared with research conducted on astronauts of different Regions of the world ".
Al-Marri explained that there are scientific missions in the laboratories of the International Space Station will be assigned to the UAE astronaut responsibility to complete them in proportion to the timing and duration of stay at the station in addition to the research to be carried by the schools and universities of the United Arab Emirates.
For their part, the astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Niyadi thanked the leadership for providing all the capabilities that helped them achieve their ambitions. The scientific and technical environment offered by the UAE encourages the younger generations to study science, develop a culture of research, Scientists and engineers who will contribute to the vision of good leadership to reach a knowledge-based economy, pledge to be ambassadors of the nation in space, contribute to its service and serve humanity as a whole.
It is noteworthy that Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al-Nayadi were selected from among the 4022 candidates who applied to join the Emirates astronaut program after a long series of advanced medical and psychological tests and a series of interviews in accordance with the highest international standards.

The Emirates Astronautics Program, which is supervised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, is part of the Emirates National Space Program and contributes to the national strategy to develop scientific cadres and prepare future generations to the highest international standards and achieve their aspirations to participate in scientific explorations.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large-scale human life satellite and has carried out hundreds of scientific and technical experiments and research that have enabled scientists and astronauts to come up with amazing discoveries that could not be reached on Earth. The station rotates at a constant low orbit at 28,000 kilometers per hour meaning it only takes 90 minutes to complete a full cycle around the Earth. The station includes an international crew of six astronauts most of the time. Astronauts spend most of their time conducting in-depth scientific research in various scientific, space, biological, and earth sciences disciplines to develop human scientific knowledge and reach scientific discoveries that can only be reached in the absence of gravity.
The station has been receiving astronauts since 2000 and the number of astronauts hosted by the station has so far reached more than 220 astronauts from 17 countries and in 2019 will include the first Arab-Emirati astronaut to participate in scientific research aboard the station, thus contributing to the consolidation of the UAE site As a world leader in space.