The United Arab Emirates buys a place for a long mission on the ISS


Eric Bottlaender

Space specialist

May 03, 2022 at 3:50 p.m.

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UAE MBRSC signing Axiom ISS contract © MBRSC

Time is money… And on the ISS, it can take up to six months! Credits: MBRSC

In the first half of 2023, one or more astronaut of the United Arab Emirates will fly for a mission of about six months on the International Space Station. An opportunity offered by Axiom Space thanks to an exchange of seats on the Crew-6 mission, which the Emirates was able to finance.

The national agency has four astronauts in service.

A seat of choice on board the ISS

In 2019, Hazza Al-Mansouri became the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates to cross the frontier of space and reach orbit. He was then a passenger on Soyuz, for a short mission of only one week… but the Gulf country had sent him only for reasons of national prestige. Not only had he carried out several locally designed experiments within the ISS, but his flight had marked the spirits and anchored the Emirates in an astronautical culture that has been developing ever since.

The proof is, in addition to his colleague trained with him (Sultan Al Neyadi), the country immediately launched a second selection: two young people (Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla) have since been sent to the United States to undergo a complete training course there with the latest NASA “rookies”. Now, the Emirati agency has a long mission to entrust to one of its proud representatives!

Axiom Space, the privileged intermediary?

On April 27, the MBRSC (Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, the space headquarters in the UAE) therefore signed up for a place on the Crew-6 mission. It will take off in the spring of 2023 with the SpaceX capsule from Florida, to fly to the International Space Station and stay there between four and six months.

The flight was purchased through the services of Axiom Space (to whom NASA “owed” a seat after a complicated assembly to fly the American Mark Vande Hei last year), but there is no question of talking about a flight of approval! Whichever astronaut is selected, he or she will be trained for a mission including a great deal of technical and scientific experience…

Hazzaa-Mansoori.jpg

Astronauts from partner countries on the ISS praised the professionalism of Hazza Al-Mansouri in 2018 during his first space trip. Credits: Roscosmos

Open station, or travel with all options

The astronaut from the United Arab Emirates will eventually be able, according to the agreements between agencies, to fit into the agenda that governs the life of “traditional” passengers between exercises, updating the station and multinational experiences (in particular on the medical side) . However, this depends on the approval of all the nations and agencies concerned, the ISS being a “closed” club whose conditions of access are conditioned on investments in the station itself (via a set of thick agreements like an encyclopedia).

The UAE, having paid for a “turnkey” fixed trip, will no doubt have a few special arrangements for a six-month trip… Al Neyadi and Al Mansouri have both already passed training to operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm, and even for scuba diving.

The Emirates continue to get closer to the United States in the field of astronautics, and it’s a safe bet that in a few years they will have the same status as Japan and/or Canada, at the current rate. Until then, one of the four suitors can prepare for one hell of a trip…

On the same subject :
Discover Crew-4 and its crew who have just arrived on the ISS!

Sources: Sarwat Nasir through Twitter, The National news





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