Dubai: The UAE’s first astronauts — Hazza Ali Abdan Khalfan Al Mansouri and Sultan Saif Muftah Hamad Al Niadi — are training hard in Russia, from where one of them will travel to space in April 2019, a senior official told Gulf News.
Al Mansouri, a military fighter pilot, and Niadi, an IT expert, were on Tuesday announced as the first Emirati astronauts who will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS).
They will undergo an intensive eight-month long training programme before the launch, said Salem Humaid Al Merri, assistant director-general for Scientific and Technical Affairs at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). Al Marri is also chairman of the Emirates Higher Committee for Astronautics.
The training will be held in places like Russia, Europe and America. “The programme covers many aspects — most notably aeronautics training — as well as life and work training in space through the spacecraft. It is up to us to avail of the best training opportunities and prepare for this world event,” he added.
MBRSC is following up with the UAE astronauts on a daily basis, working with them and making observations during their stay outside the country.
Al Merri added that the UAE is cooperating with the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the nine candidates who turned up for the training, to test their endurance and preparing them to live and work in space.
A number of criteria qualified Al Mansouri and Al Niadi to become the first Emirati astronauts. “Their abilities, leadership qualities, endurance and their career specialisations are in line with the space mission they are going to undertake,” Al Merri explained.
The two astronauts will set an example for the UAE’s youth and their selection is an achievement for all Arab countries, Al Merri noted.
The astronauts will work aboard a 35-year-old space station. Three astronauts — one each from Russia, US and UAE — will man the station. All of them will have trained replacement astronauts, in case of an emergency.
