Almaty (Kazakhstan) (AFP)

Emirati Hazzaa Al Mansouri, entered into history by becoming the first citizen of an Arab country to stay in the International Space Station (ISS), is due to return to Earth on Thursday after an eight-day mission.

The astronaut, who has become a hero in his home country, is due to land around 1100 GMT in the Kazakh steppes with Nick Hague of the United States and Alexei Ovchinin of Russia, who survived the failed rocket launch of the year. last.

While Hague and Ovchinin will complete a 203-day stay, Hazzaa Al Mansouri has only been on board since September 25th. The two astronauts who accompanied him that day, the Russian Oleg Skripochka and the American Jessica Meir, will not come back until next spring.

Although short, the mission of Hazzaa Al Mansouri has aroused immense pride in the United Arab Emirates, newcomers in the space field, who have recently announced plans to send a probe to Mars by 2021.

- Chosen among 4,022 candidates -

Aged 35, Hazzaa Al Mansouri allows the Emirates to join the small club of Arab countries that sent a man into space, overtaken by Saudi Arabia in 1985 and Syria in 1987. He is the first national of these countries to have visited the ISS.

Selected from 4,022 candidates, this former fighter pilot had learned in September 2018 that he would be part of the adventure. On board, he donned a traditional Emirati outfit and participated in experiments, especially on the perception of time.

During an exchange with Emirati schoolchildren, this father of four had indicated that making a call to his mother would be his priority after his return trip to Earth, which should last a little over three hours.

During his mission, the Emirati astronaut also posted on Twitter photos seen from the space of the Emirates and Mecca, the most sacred site of Islam.

On Thursday, the return of Nick Hague and Alexey Ovchinin will also be a source of special attention. In October 2018, their Soyuz rocket departing for the ISS broke up a few minutes after take-off, an unprecedented accident for the Russian space program since the end of the USSR.

After being ejected, the two men had escaped unharmed.

In February, they had left the Russian cosmodrome Baikonur and this time successfully docked at the ISS. It was the first time for Nick Hague, and the second for Alexey Ovchinin.

The International Space Station is a rare example of cooperation between Russia and the United States in a context of unprecedented tensions since the Cold War. Sixteen countries participate in the ISS, which has cost a total of $ 100 billion, most of which is paid for by the United States and Russia.

© 2019 AFP