UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri has confirmed that as soon as he saw HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the forefront of his future at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, he was feeling that he saw the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, May God rest his soul, joyful to achieve a dream he wished 40 years ago, stressing that he is proud of all the pride in the popular reception, which reflected the value and importance of science and space among citizens.
This came during a symposium held yesterday, on the sidelines of the reception of UAE astronauts, Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, and participated in addition to the astronauts, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, Director of the Emirates Astronauts Program. , Salem al-Marri.
“At the beginning of my mission in space, I felt not only that I represented my country, but I was representing the entire Arab world, so I say to the new generations: This is just the beginning of what is to come. When I was young, I dreamed of going into space. "It is impossible, but today and in front of the world, I have reached space thanks to the support of the leadership, which has assured us all, in a practical lesson, that there is no impossible in our country."
Al Mansouri spoke about his experience at the International Space Station, saying: “The experience was very special from the moment of my choice and my colleague Sultan Al-Neyadi among the thousands of applicants for this honor, and through the training I received in the city of Stars in Russia, and dozens of other training centers, and upon my arrival and return from The space station, and today I can confirm that I and the Sultan of a small part of the UAE's giant system does not know the impossible ».
“At the International Space Station, they took samples from me, because they were very interested in getting samples from someone new to the station, especially since I am of Arab nationality, and as soon as I arrived at the station I was very excited and proud to be one of those in the lab. The Earth is 400 kilometers away, next to the best astronomers in the world, but in fact the most proud and proud time when I wore the national uniform on the space station, which was a surprise to all my colleagues. ”
Al-Mansouri stressed that everyone who works at the International Space Station aims to serve humanity, without regard to sex, religion or gender, reflecting the values of tolerance we have learned in our homeland, vowing to transfer all his knowledge and testimonies to the new generations, to be among them hundreds of astronauts And space scientists.
For his part, Engineer Salem Humaid Al Marri, said: “When the program was open for registration, we expected the number of applicants to be between 400 to 500 people, but we were surprised that in three months the number reached 4022 citizens, and this number surprised us, because it showed a strong desire for Nationals to participate in this program ».
He added that the evaluation process took seven months to evaluate the applicants and select the best elements among them, pointing out that Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi were the best, for several considerations, they are military graduates in the school of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the forces For their proper military education based on sacrifice, and their keenness to work diligently.
He reported that 100 of the 4,022 people who applied for the program were military and six of the 10 who reached the final stages of testing were military.
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 for water filtering and reuse, and this system is used in various areas on the surface of the earth to desalinate water.
“It was not only Hazza al-Mansouri who set out on his mission to the International Space Station,” said astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi. “In about 13 months, Hazza and I have lived with the same conditions, challenges and difficult environment in Russia, exams and study, sharing food. So I felt the same responsibility entrusted to it, and when he embarked on his journey I felt that I was traveling with him, and did not calm me only when the spacecraft docked with the International Space Station, and we saw Hazza enter the spacecraft, the feeling was great, as the ambition of Zayed and the ambition of leadership and the UAE shortened at the moment ».
Salem Al Marri:
"Space is the key to the future and a way to improve the lives of mankind on Earth."