Days after coming back from space, the UAE’s first Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori is in “excellent health”, says a top official.
Hazzaa returned to Earth on Thursday after his historic eight-day stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
The first Emirati and Arab on the ISS, however, was flown immediately to Star City, Russia, for post-mission medical tests.
After a few days of rest, Hazzaa is ready to complete his mission, the chief of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said. “Hazzaa has shown excellent health and is ready to complete his scientific experiments as planned,” Hamad Obaid AlMansoori, chairman of MBRSC, said in a tweet on Monday.
The tweet was accompanied by a photo of AlMansoori and the heads of the UAE Astronaut Programme while talking to Hazzaa.
Most of Hazzaa’s 16 scientific experiments conducted in space revolved on the effects of zero gravity on his body. Prior to launch, Hazzaa’s vitals and other physiological data were recorded to be compared with his results after his stint in space.
The UAE public is eagerly waiting to see their space hero return to his motherland but no date of his return has been released so far.
Salem Al Merri, assistant director-general of MBRSC and head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, told Gulf News on Monday: “We will announce [the date of his return] in the coming days.”
Al Merri earlier said Hazzaa and the MBRSC team might stay in Russia until October 11 or 14 to complete all the required medical tests.
In a tweet on Monday, Hazzaa shared how much he misses his native Abu Dhabi.
“Despite being miles away, my heart longed for the warmth of this land. #AbuDhabi,” Hazzaa said while tweeting photos of the capital taken from the ISS.
