Excitement builds as UAE prepares to send its first astronaut into space
- On September 25, the UAE is sending its own astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time
- It was only two years ago that the UAE officially launched its astronaut programme. With the help of international partners, however, it has quickly caught up
When US astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon on July 21, 1969, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) did not even exist. Large oilfields had only just been found in the region.
Yet, within a few decades, the Emirates grew rich and its cities – like Dubai and Abu Dhabi with their glittering skyscrapers – stretched up into the sky.
And now it will go even further. On September 25, the UAE is sending its own astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time.
Hassa Al Mansouri already tweets as @astro_hazza about his preparations in Russia, posing in his spacesuit. He has just over 5,000 followers so far.
The UAE has been proudly announcing for months that Al Mansouri will be the first Arab astronaut to lead a video tour of the ISS and explain experiments in Arabic. The new “Race to Space” is also about superlatives. Even if the first Arab actually flew into space with the US back in 1985.