Having made history in more ways than one, the Emirati astronaut returns at last
His out-of-world experience was certainly historic for the UAE, and now the country’s favourite astronaut is returning.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will return from the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 September.
Accompanied by NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, Al Neyadi is set to depart the ISS aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour on 2 September.
The team will splashdown off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico the next day.
Safety is of the highest priority here, with stringent checks, weather analysis and recovery readiness all to be analysed prior to deorbiting.
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Launched on 2 March, the landmark Arab space mission was carried out via the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Over the mission’s duration, Al Neyadi participated in over 200 experiments, collaborating with UAE and global universities as well as international space agencies.
The studies encompassed diverse fields such as plant genetics, human life sciences, exploration technology, material science, fluid dynamics, protein crystallization growth, and advanced exploration technologies.
Al Neyadi accrued several milestones during this mission, including becoming the first Arab astronaut to complete a spacewalk, the first astronaut to perform Jiu-Jitsu in space, and maintaining constant communications through his A Call from Space series.
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