First-ever UAE citizen in space to launch from Kazakhstan
The 25th of September will turn into a historic event for the United Arab Emirates. On this day, the first Emirati astronaut, Hazaa Al-Mansouri, will leave for space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Strategy2050.kz informs.
Hazaa Al-Mansouri is a 35-years old UAE citizen, having a bachelor degree in aviation sciences. Al-Mansouri is a military pilot, has 14 years of experience in military aviation. He participated in a number of training programs in the UAE and abroad, including more than 1.4 thousand hours and 90 special flight preparation courses to the International Space Station at the Star City cosmonaut training center.
The first astronaut from the Emirates will go into space as part of a crew consisting of American astronaut Jessica Meir and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. Al-Mansouri will stay at the international space station for 8 days, where he will also be the first Arab to visit the space station.
Al-Mansouri will conduct 16 scientific experiments in space. It should also be noted that Al-Mansouri will be the first Arab astronaut to take part in scientific experiments at the international space station.
This significant event for the Emirates was made possible thanks to the initiative of the UAE heads to create a state program for training astronauts. So, earlier in their statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, as well as Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, declared to the world community the aim of the Emirates to become a space power and announced the creation of the UAE National Space Program and the launch of a program to train a team of astronauts from the Emirates who would be ready to go into space. The program is managed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.
The UAE astronaut training program is the first such program in the Arab world aimed at developing a highly efficient and qualified corps of Emirati astronauts and preparing them for future space missions. They will serve as ambassadors of the UAE and the Arab world in the field of space exploration.
Later, in June 2018, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center signed an agreement with Roscosmos to prepare and send the first astronaut from the UAE to the International Space Station. The flight will be carried out on a Russian-made manned ship - Soyuz MS-15.
Cooperation of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center with Roscosmos will not end there. The agencies of the two countries, together with Kazcosmos - the National Space Agency of Kazakhstan, are planning to implement a joint project to modernize the “Gagarin’s Launch” pad No. 1 in Baikonur. For the Emirates, such cooperation is, first and foremost, gaining invaluable experience in the space industry.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to the Kazakh land where Baikonur is located - the first space harbor from which the first Emirati astronaut will go into space. As the UAE Ambassador to Kazakhstan, I am proud to honour this historic event for my people and country and to be present when sending Al-Mansouri to space”, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the UAE to Kazakhstan Mohammad Aljaber said.
Some interesting facts about the flight of the first UAE astronaut into space:
- the candidacy of Al-Mansouri was selected after a multi-stage verification of almost 4 thousand UAE citizens who submitted an application to fly into space. Initially, out of the total number of applications, after thorough examination, 95 candidates were selected, then the circle of possible applicants narrowed to 39 people, then to 18. As a result, Hazaa Al-Mansouri fell in honor of becoming the first UAE astronaut, the second astronaut duplicating Al-Mansouri is Sultan Al-Neyadi;
- the Russian Space Agency, at the proposal of the UAE Space Center, developed a set of space food specially for the flight of Al-Mansouri, which includes three traditional dishes of the Emirates – chicken madhrooba, lamb saloona and vermicelli with balaleet omelette. All meals comply with Halal standards. Space food will be packed in special containers. During the flight, Al-Mansouri will introduce the crew of the International Space Station with the features of the national cuisine of the Emirates;
- Al-Mansouri will take ten kilograms of cargo with him to the International Space Station, which includes family photos, a photo of the UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with Apollo astronauts, the Quran scripture, the book “My History,” authored by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the flag of the Emirates made of pure silk, as well as other things related to the historical heritage of the UAE, which will subsequently be housed in a museum. In addition, among the things of the first UAE astronaut there will be 30 seeds of the UAE's national tree - al-Ghaf, which will be planted at different places in the Emirates upon returning from space.
