Shamsa Al Mansouri, the sister of UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, expressed her great pleasure in the arrival of her brother to space to become the first Emirati and Arab landing on the International Space Station, stressing that this achievement made her brother the focus of the world, and has become a role model for the youth of his homeland and all Arabs.
"I am proud to be the sister of Hazza Al Mansouri, who has become one of the sons of the country who have achieved a dream," Shamsa told Emirates Today on the sidelines of the live broadcast of Hazza Al Mansouri's launch into space. The founding father of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, "thanking the wise leadership for choosing Hazza Al Mansouri and trusting him, to be the first Emirati astronaut.
"Hazza represents a generation of citizens who do not know the difficulties or the impossible, and face all the challenges for their country and their leadership, and therefore I am not worried about him and I know that he is as much as he was assigned, and will return after the six-day trip to benefit the country experiences and knowledge."
Hundreds of citizens, including officials, senior youth, school and university students, attended the main hall of Abu Dhabi Exhibition Center two hours before the launch of Hazza Al Mansouri into space, during which they were keen to follow the live broadcast of the pre-launch preparations and take memorial photos next to a huge picture of "Hazza", while he was received by a citizen in an astronaut uniform, and take with them memorial photos.
As Hazza al-Mansouri appeared on television from the Baikonur base in Kazakhstan, the hall was shaken with applause, and before his launch he played in the National Peace Hall.And the audience began to shout it loudly, until the moment of the launch came amid cheers and Zagard and applause from the followers of the event.
Following the launch of the launch, Sheikha Al Maskari, CEO of Innovation at the Emirates Space Agency, expressed her happiness and pride in the presence of an Emirati astronaut, stressing that this success is the result of the efforts of years of continuous and placed the UAE in the ranks of space countries.
"The arrival of Hazza Al Mansouri to the International Space Station is only a starting point for the emergence of dozens of astronauts in the near future," said Al Maskari. "The Emirates Space Program is based on sustainability and aims to create qualified national cadres to become One of the best experts, scientists and astronauts in the field of space. "