UAE Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi Chosen for 6-Months ISS Mission

United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi has been selected for a mission to spend six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and take part in the NASA mission in spring 2023.

Al-Neyadi will hold the record of the Arab astronaut with the longest time aboard the station. The mission will place the UAE on the list of only 11 countries that have sent their astronauts on long-term missions in space.

In 2019, fellow emirati Hazza al-Mansouri became the first person from the UAE in space and the first Arab to board the ISS, where he spent eight days conducting experiments and filming the first tour of the ISS in Arabic.

#UAE's Sultan AlNeyadi to become the 1st Arab astronaut to undergo a six-month mission to the International Space Station scheduled for 2023. The UAE will be the 11th country in history to send a long-term mission to space. @MBRSpaceCentre @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/QTY2unOT5Y

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 25, 2022

Both men are members of Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.

In recent years, the UAE has taken the lead in its space ambitions, training several astronauts and developing the Hope probe, which is currently researching the atmosphere of Mars.