Konnichiwa from space! UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi pays tribute to Japan on historic day

Dubai: Hello and Konnichiwa (in Japanese) to all our friends from #Japan. This was a special greeting from space shared by UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi on Monday.

Al Neyadi, who is on the longest Arab space mission on the International Space Station, shared the greeting in a special post dedicated to Japan on the historic occasion of Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida’s visit to the UAE.

The ‘Sultan of Space’ also shared a photo of the Japanese capital Tokyo captured from the microgravity laboratory orbiting the Earth 400km away from our planet.

“I am sharing this photo of the Japanese capital #Tokyo on the occasion of the Prime Minister of Japan’s visit to the UAE. Today marks a historic milestone for both nations,” Al Neyadi stated in his social media post.

“With the signing of strategic agreements between MBRSC and Japanese partners, we are paving the way for a promising future,” he said, referring to the agreements made between the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), the agency behind the UAE Astronaut Programme, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), a partner in MBSC’s space exploration ventures.

“Japan holds a special place in my heart, and I will never forget the wonderful days I spent there during the preparations for my mission,” Al Neyadi added.

He had trained for his mission for a week with JAXA last year. Once he reached the space station, Al Neyadi shared a warm bond with the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, flight engineer of Expedition 68. Last month, Al Neyadi embarked on the innovative Protein Crystal Growth Experiment (PCG) in collaboration with JAXA on board the Japanese Kibo module on the space station.