Dubai girl's experiment to be taken aboard US rocket

Dubai: A rocket is set to launch from a space centre in the United States on Monday and one student from Dubai is filled with anticipation.

Alia Almansoori, a 15-year-old aspiring astronaut is at the NASA Kennedy Space Centre in Central Florida, where a rocket carrying her experiment is scheduled to take off at 12.31pm (8.31pm Dubai time) on Monday.

The 15-year-old student from Al Mawakeb School Al Barsha in Dubai is the winner in the Genes in Space competition in UAE early this year.

As part of the prize, the young Emirati’s experiment, a study of proteins in DNA that could help astronauts avoid cell damage during long flights, will be taken aboard the Falcon-9 rocket.

“15-year-old Genesis in Space winner Alia Almansoori is at NASA Kennedy ready to send her experiment,” the UAE Embassy in the United States announced on Twitter.