UAE: How Emirati astronauts are training at top NASA facility

UAE: How Emirati astronauts are training at top NASA facility

The second batch of the UAE's astronaut corps is preparing for a longer history-making odyssey to the International Space Station (ISS).

Hazza Al Mansoori had spent eight days on board the ISS, in 2019 and became the first Emirati and Arab to go to space.

Khaleej Times caught up with Al Mansouri and his colleague Sultan Al Neyadi for an exclusive virtual conversation while they were undergoing training at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, US.

In the second part of the exclusive interview, Al Mansouri recalled that space exploration is no child's play.

“To travel to space, you need to prepare yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. The blast off and the experience of the spaceflight is indescribable. It evokes a range of emotions. Besides, the physical pressure during the launch is tremendous. In the same breath, I must also say there is a sense of immense gratification. You're grateful for all the choices you made, the opportunities that you got in your life to reach this point…to be in the rocket blasting off to space,” he said.

While the life of an astronaut can be