Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan meets UAE astronauts

By Angel Chan

DUBAI 22 February 2019: Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, received yesterday at his office in Emirates Towers in Dubai, the two Emiratis astronauts Hazza Al Mansoori and Sultan Al Neyadi.

The two astronauts were selected among 4,022 applicants for (MBRSC UAE Astronaut Programme, which was launched in 2017 to participate in global space exploration missions by 2021.

Sheikh Hamdan highlighted the importance of the mission and that the two astronauts are tasked with, as they are the first two UAE citizens to travel to the International Space Station to conduct a number of research and tests, which represent an important step for a very ambitious project that the UAE aims to take the lead in it. He also wished them success in all the projects they will be involved in.

Sheikh Hamdan also reviewed the various steps of UAE Astronaut Programme, and the training they undergone at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

Al Mansouri is a military fighter pilot with 14 years of military aviation experience. In 2016, he qualified to be an aeronautical pilot and now pilots an F-16B60 aircraft.

Al Niyadi has a PhD in Data Leakage Prevention Technology from Griffith University in Australia, as well as a Master’s degree in Information and Networks Security from the same university. He also has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Brighton University in the UK.