UAE astronaut Mohammad Al Mulla conquers underground caves in extreme training programme in Italy

Dubai: UAE astronaut Mohammad Al Mulla has successfully completed the European Space Agency's CAVES training programme that simulates spaceflight by having astronauts explore a real cave system in a multicultural team. 

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai, the agency behind the UAE Astronauts Programme, on Thursday announced this significant milestone for the Emirati astronaut who is part of the second batch of UAE astronauts.

The former Dubai Police helicopter pilot, who graduated from NASA's Astronaut Candidate Class in 2024, underwent the ESA training in Italy.

The intensive course saw him working alongside an international crew of astronauts from ESA, Japanese space agency JAXA and the US space agency NASA in the challenging underground cave systems of Molise and Campania.

CAVES, which stands for Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills, is designed to prepare astronauts for the harsh realities of space exploration. The programme pushes participants to work safely and effectively as a team under conditions that closely mirror those encountered during actual space missions.

The training combined technical lectures and outdoor activities with a multi-day underground expedition that tested the crew's mental and physical resilience, MBRSC said.

Cut off from the outside world, Al Mulla and his fellow astronauts lived and worked in complete isolation within the cave system, confronting challenges that space explorers routinely face.

During the programme, the crew mastered techniques for subterranean exploration, mapping and scientific research. But beyond technical skills, the experience honed their abilities in communication, leadership, stress management and decision-making—all critical competencies for future space missions.

The underground environment provided an authentic simulation of spaceflight conditions. Like astronauts orbiting Earth or travelling to distant destinations, the CAVES participants experienced isolation from the outside world and a lack of diurnal cycles—the natural 24-hour pattern of day and night that regulates human sleep-wake cycles and body rhythms.

On Earth, we rely on sunlight and darkness to maintain our circadian rhythms, but in caves, just as in space, this natural cycle disappears entirely.

The crew also contended with confinement in tight spaces, minimal privacy, technical challenges, and limited equipment and supplies for hygiene and comfort. Perhaps most significantly, they faced the constant presence of risk, a psychological pressure that astronauts must learn to manage during missions beyond our planet.

By completing the CAVES training, Al Mulla has gained invaluable experience that will support his future missions and strengthen international collaboration in space exploration. The programme brings together astronauts from different space agencies, fostering the kind of multinational teamwork essential for ambitious projects like lunar bases and Mars expeditions.

The achievement marks another step forward for the UAE's ambitious space programme, which has already seen two Emirati astronauts, Hazzaa Al Mansoori and Dr Sultan Al Neyadi, travel to the International Space Station and contribute to groundbreaking research in microgravity environments.