The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center announced that UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, who will launch to the International Space Station on September 25 this year, will host the traditional Emirati food night aboard the station, where he will wear traditional Emirati uniforms. Emirati foods are: mashed, saloon and balaite. It will be a unique event on board the station, and for the first time will taste Arab cuisine, especially Gulf in an environment of almost no gravity.
UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri, the UAE's primary astronaut for the mission to go to the International Space Station, and Sultan Al-Nayadi, the alternative astronaut, have spent time in the city of Al-Najm Between 1 and 2 hours a day for a week to taste halal foods from about 200 different varieties and evaluate each. The food is being processed by the Russian Space Food Laboratory company.
"The foods dedicated to astronauts are prepared according to specific requirements to provide balanced nutrition, while ensuring that they are easy to carry, store and use in a virtually non-gravity environment," said Hazza Al Mansouri. These foods are processed under high temperatures to maintain and store them for longer periods. During the training period, we rated halal foods from about 200 species on a scale of 1 to 9 at least favorably to the most preferred. Our experience of tasting UAE cuisine prepared for space was very positive, but of course the taste of food is somewhat different in the space environment compared to its taste on the earth".
Al Mansouri added: "I am honored to be the first astronaut to host an Emirati night on board the International Space Station to introduce the authentic Emirati culture to which I am proud to belong and to share with the rest of the astronauts some of the most popular and delicious dishes that include mussels, salads and bouquets. .
Sultan al-Nayadi said the menu on the International Space Station includes appetizers, such as soups and cheeses, and the main meal includes fish, chicken or beef, desserts and beverages such as tea and juices. The training process at the Yuri Gagarin Center in Russia's "Star City" included a taste of 20 to 30 types of space food for a whole week, and the space dishes are usually in the form of paste in pipes. Heated, or canned form containing food in a cohesive form or in a dried form to which water is added and can be heated in special equipment for a period of between five and seven minutes.
Many inventions, used in everyday life, were developed primarily for use in space, including artificial baby milk, where the US space agency (NASA) aimed to make a food formula commensurate with long distances to travel to space, Which later resulted in the discovery of Formolide, a synthetic milk supplement, which is a good dietary supplement. Frozen food was also the result of the search for a way to provide food for astronauts on their long journey into space.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center oversees the Emirates Astronauts program, part of the Emirates National Space Program, which aims to prepare the first batch of astronauts to participate in the global space exploration mission. The program contributes to achieving the national strategy, which aims to develop scientific cadres and prepare future generations according to the highest international standards and achieve their aspirations to participate in the scientific explorations and the aspirations of the state in this field.
The Emirates Space Pioneers Program is supported by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ICT) Fund, the financing arm of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). This fund, launched in 2007, is the first of its kind in the Middle East and aims to support the research and development efforts of the UAE telecoms sector , Enrich and support and develop technical services, and promote the integration of the state into the global economy.
• Foods prepared for astronauts are prepared according to specific requirements to provide balanced nutrition, while ensuring that they are easy to carry and store.