UAE: UAE to send Emirati astronaut on six-month mission to International Space Station – Gulf Digital News

UAE: UAE to send Emirati astronaut on six-month mission to International Space Station – Gulf Digital News

The United Arab Emirates has announced the launch of a new space mission to the International Space Station that will last for six months.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a new strategic cooperation in human spaceflight with Axiom Space Inc. a leading human spaceflight and infrastructure company.

Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said: "We launched the " UAE Astronaut programme" more than five years ago. The UAE sent the first Arab astronaut on a historic trip to the International Space Station... Today we announce a new cooperation between the UAE and the United States of America to send an Emirati astronaut on the first long-term mission aboard the International Space Station".

"Signing the agreement to send the first Arab astronaut in a long-term mission of 180 days to the International Space Station is new milestone for the UAE space sector. The UAE will be among 11 countries in the world that carried out long-term space missions," he added.

MBRSC currently has four Astronauts training at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, this training will prepare them for long duration human spaceflight.

The planned space mission to the ISS will include an Emirati astronaut and his