Assistant Director General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center for Scientific and Technical Affairs, Director of the Emirates Astronaut Program, Salem Humaid Al Marri, said that astronaut Hazza Al-Mansouri, has completed the arrival of the International Space Station 50% of the mission entrusted to him, and return to the Earth station in Moscow “We are on our first UAE space flight and aim to train additional astronauts in the near future,” he said.

“The mission of sending the first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station, within the UAE astronaut program, took about two and a half years,” he told Emirates Today by telephone. “We started the program in April 2017, and a team from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center “Up to 100 people have been preparing and preparing the first Emirati astronaut.

He added: «We are very pleased, because we were able to reach this stage, the UAE space program, with the arrival of Hazza Al-Mansouri to the International Space Station, to be the first Emirati and Arab astronaut to reach it, we were able to complete his training periods with fellow astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi successfully, Hazza was very enthusiastic about the mission, and as he always expected to start the journey, until he reaches the station, and after the start of the trip, we moved to reflect on the task itself, the mechanisms of implementation, and the steps we carry out with Hazza during the duration of the trip, and then we communicate with him daily, and we are working now "To accomplish his mission to the fullest."

On the most important experiments to be conducted by Hazza Al Mansouri on the International Space Station, Al Marri said that «the current phase of the mission of the UAE astronaut is the stage of experiments on the station, and the implementation of the UAE's integrated program in the International Space Station, where the program includes several things, including conducting 16 scientific experiments It includes experiments on Hazza's body, the results of which will be part of studies after returning from his journey, to show changes in his body and the impact of microgravity, as well as experiments on how to deal with liquids in microgravity, and other experiments on the mixing of water and oil under the microgravity on the station.

He continued: «Al Mansouri is implementing an intensive educational program that includes reading stories for children, and live broadcast daily with the public at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, in addition to filming the UAE, and landmarks from different Arab and non-Arab countries, whether identified for him before the launch, or can identify While on board the station in his spare time ».

On the UAE astronauts program and the plan of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center to prepare the first Emirati astronaut, Al Marri said: “We have an integrated and sustainable astronaut program, and we are currently in the first space flight, with Hazza Al Mansouri arriving at the International Space Station. "In the near future, we will participate in future spaceflight, and when we define this trip will be detailed talk about the target."

He pointed out that «Sultan Al-Neyadi is still with the team of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, in the ground station in Moscow, and participate with him in the control of the task of Hazza Mansouri, a participant in the various stages of the mission, and will continue the station until Hazza returns, to return home together» .

Hazza Al - Mansouri on the third day of the International Space Station

1. He began his third day of communication with the Earth Station at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai, where he spoke yesterday with the ground team to brief them on the activities to be carried out, and spoke to the Center again at the end of the day.

2. Talk to Dr. Hanan Al-Suwaidi, the astronaut's doctor, who follows his health throughout the mission.

3. Experiments on fluid dynamics in space have been completed in collaboration with the European Space Agency ESA to verify fluid behavior under the standard gravity coefficient (معامل-gravity).

4 - He started a number of experiments he carried with him from the schools of the United Arab Emirates, within the initiative of space science launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center, and participated in the conduct of about 16 schools from the state.

5- Al-Mansouri follows three different experiments daily to observe the effect of microgravity, including germination of seeds and growth of some aquatic organisms, in addition to monitoring the rates of oxidation of steel in the absence of gravity.

6. Record his diary for 15 minutes to document his activities aboard the International Space Station. It also conducts several experiments aboard the International Space Station to study the interaction of human body biomarkers in space, compared to experiments conducted on the surface of the Earth, and study the indicators of bone condition, disorders in motor activity, perception and perception of time in the astronaut, in addition to the dynamics of fluids in space, And the impact of living in space on humans.