UAE Names Two Astronauts to Go to Space
Two Emirati astronauts will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced on Monday
Dr. Shaul Shay
| 04/09/2018
Archive photo: AP
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has selected its first two astronauts to go on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum named the new astronauts as Hazza al-Mansouri, 34, and Sultan al-Neyadi, 37.
The Dubai ruler tweeted: "We have the region's only Mars exploration program, a fully operating satellite manufacturing capability and an astronaut program as part of our Dhs 20 billion investment in the space sector. The secret is our young Arab people and their capabilities."
The first Arab in outer space was Saudi Arabia's Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, who flew on a US shuttle mission in 1985. Two years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed Faris spent a week aboard the ex-Soviet Union's Mir space station.
The International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest human-made body in low-Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998 and its development and assembly continue, with components scheduled for launch this year and in 2019.
The ISS, the world's largest international cooperative program in science and technology, is a partnership between European countries (represented by ESA), the United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos).
The Space Station, which weighs almost 400 tons, was taken into space piece-by-piece and gradually built in orbit, approximately 400 km above the Earth's surface. This assembly required more than 40 missions.
The UAE Space Program
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the most ambitious space program has been launched by the UAE government. The UAE has expressed growing interest in space in recent years, establishing a national space agency and funding satellite projects, in addition to its planned human spaceflight program.
The UAE launched the National Space Program on April 12, 2017, under which the UAE will prepare Emirati cadres specialized in airspace sciences. Young Emirati cadres will execute the National Space Program. The country’s investments in space technologies have already exceeded AED20 billion ($5.4 billion).
The UAE has already announced plans to become the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to orbit Mars by 2021. Named "Hope," the probe is scheduled to launch in 2020 to study the Martian atmosphere.
In the long-term, the UAE says it is planning to build a "Science City" to replicate life on Mars and aims to create the first human settlement on the red planet by 2117.
Summary
The astronaut program would make the UAE one of only a handful of states in the Middle East to have sent a person into space.
Within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the most ambitious space program has been launched by the UAE government with the country’s first fully government-owned satellite – DubaiSat-1 – sent into space in 2009.
[Sources: Al Arabiya, Ahram Online, UAE Government]
Two Emirati astronauts will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced on Monday
Archive photo: AP
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has selected its first two astronauts to go on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum named the new astronauts as Hazza al-Mansouri, 34, and Sultan al-Neyadi, 37.
The Dubai ruler tweeted: "We have the region's only Mars exploration program, a fully operating satellite manufacturing capability and an astronaut program as part of our Dhs 20 billion investment in the space sector. The secret is our young Arab people and their capabilities."
The first Arab in outer space was Saudi Arabia's Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, who flew on a US shuttle mission in 1985. Two years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed Faris spent a week aboard the ex-Soviet Union's Mir space station.
The International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest human-made body in low-Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998 and its development and assembly continue, with components scheduled for launch this year and in 2019.
The ISS, the world's largest international cooperative program in science and technology, is a partnership between European countries (represented by ESA), the United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos).
The Space Station, which weighs almost 400 tons, was taken into space piece-by-piece and gradually built in orbit, approximately 400 km above the Earth's surface. This assembly required more than 40 missions.
The UAE Space Program
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the most ambitious space program has been launched by the UAE government. The UAE has expressed growing interest in space in recent years, establishing a national space agency and funding satellite projects, in addition to its planned human spaceflight program.
The UAE launched the National Space Program on April 12, 2017, under which the UAE will prepare Emirati cadres specialized in airspace sciences. Young Emirati cadres will execute the National Space Program. The country’s investments in space technologies have already exceeded AED20 billion ($5.4 billion).
The UAE has already announced plans to become the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to orbit Mars by 2021. Named "Hope," the probe is scheduled to launch in 2020 to study the Martian atmosphere.
In the long-term, the UAE says it is planning to build a "Science City" to replicate life on Mars and aims to create the first human settlement on the red planet by 2117.
Summary
The astronaut program would make the UAE one of only a handful of states in the Middle East to have sent a person into space.
Within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the most ambitious space program has been launched by the UAE government with the country’s first fully government-owned satellite – DubaiSat-1 – sent into space in 2009.
[Sources: Al Arabiya, Ahram Online, UAE Government]
