4 Things to Know About UAE's First Astronaut on World Astronaut Day
May 5th is World Astronaut Day, and in celebration of the UAE's outerspace achievements in the last six years, we think some recognition is in order for the nation's first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri.
In December 2017 arrived, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai had the idea of sending the first UAE astronaut to space. A little under two years later, this goal was reached when UAE citizen Hazza Al Mansouri made history by becoming the first Emirati astronaut to travel to space.
Let's take a look at the journey of Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati to go to space:
1. He was a former pilot
Coincidentally, the first astronaut from the UAE is a former pilot. In a room with hundreds of hopefuls, he was picked for this assignment. Hazza Al Mansouri's selection process started in December 2017. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre authorities oversaw the selection process after 4,022 applicants expressed interest in joining this esteemed programme.
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2. Sultan Al Neyadi was chosen as his back-up
Al Neyadi, who just performed the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut last week, was chosen as Al Mansouri's back up in 2019. The duo was instructed by international specialists in the discipline. For their training, they were sent to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, in the United States, the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, in Russia, and the European Space Agency, in Germany.
Before travelling to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to get ready for the final launch scheduled for September 25th, they passed their final qualifying exam on September 2nd.
3. He was accompanied by fellow astronauts from Russia and Kazakhstan
Al Mansouri was accompanied by Russian commander Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir from Kazakhstan. The selected spacecraft for this mission was a Russian Soyuz MS-15.
4. He snapped this iconic image of him in a Kandura in space
Not only was this the first time for someone to wear a kandura in space, but Al Mansouri was the first astronaut to wear his cultural attire in outerspace of all nationalities...and he looked great doing it!