UAE to announce two new astronauts in January 2021

UAE to announce two new astronauts in January 2021

Two astronauts from the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme will be announced in January 2021, Khaleej Times has learnt.. Senior officials from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and UAE's first astronauts Hazzaa Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi announced the timelines and application statuses of the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme at a press conference on Tuesday, March 3.Salem Al Marri, head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, MBRSC, announced that the programme has received a total of 3,000 applicants, of which 30 per cent are women.. Most applicants are from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah and the average age of the applicants is 28. ". The youngest applicant is 17, and the oldest is aged 60," said Al Marri.. Applications for the programme opened on December 6, 2019, and the present deadline for applications is on March 31.. Marri said, "We may extend the application till May 5.". A medical check-up and group assessment will be organised in June 2020.. First interviews will be from August - September 2020 and final interviews are slated to take place on November 2020.� "The final two astronauts will be announced by January 2021," said Al Marri.. According