Engineer Salem Humaid Al Marri, Director of the Emirates Astronauts Project at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, said: “When the program was open for registration, we expected the number of applicants to be between 400 and 500 people, but we were surprised that in three months, the number reached 4022 citizens. This number surprised us, because it showed the strong desire of the compatriots to participate in this program. "
He added that the evaluation process took seven months to evaluate the applicants and choose the best elements among them, pointing out that Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi were the best, for several considerations, they are military, graduated in the school of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Forces Armed, and enjoy the right military education based on sacrifice, and their eagerness to work hard.
It was reported that 100 of those who applied for the program (4022) were military and one year of the ten who reached the final stages of the tests were military.
He said that the International Space Station was built 20 years ago, and participated in the construction of more than 15 countries, and the reason behind its construction, that some scientific experiments can be carried out on them better than conducted on the ground, including that several days ago was grown tissue on the station to produce meat, They produced impressive results, because the way tissues grow in space is much more appropriate than on Earth.
He stressed that space is the key to the future, and the way to improve the lives of mankind on Earth using certain techniques, including the existence of an integrated system of water filter and reuse, and this system is used in various areas on the surface of the earth to desalinate water.
`` During the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister 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, to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center in April 2017, We pledged that their astronauts program will be sustainable, based on youth. ”
"It was not only Hazza al-Mansouri who set off on his mission to the International Space Station," said Sultan al-Niyadi, an astronaut. "I lived with Hazza in about 13 months, the same conditions and challenges, the difficult environment in Russia, exams, study and sharing food, so I was I felt the same responsibility to carry out, and when he embarked on his journey, I felt that I was traveling with him.He only rested when the spacecraft joined the International Space Station, and we saw Hazza enter the spacecraft.The feeling was great as the ambition of Zayed and the ambition of the leadership and the UAE was reduced at this moment. ''
He continued: "I was always joking Hazza because I will see the launch and he will not see it," pointing out that Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi are a summary of the vision of the leadership of the UAE, and the ambition of the people of the UAE beyond space.
On the evaluation of his experience, Al Neyadi said that the experience of the UAE astronaut to the International Space Station is an experiment for generations, to urge them to participate in this sector to find astronauts and astronauts, adding: "With a state of interest in schools of new generations in this sector, it is expected To see over a period of 10 to 15 years, we will have scientists in various medical, aerospace, scientific and technical fields. "