DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has announced the date the first astronaut from the Gulf Arab nation will go into space.
The UAE said on Monday it will send either Hazza Al-Mansoori or Sultan Al-Nayadi to the International Space Station on September 25 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
٢٥ سبتمبر ٢٠١٩ ... وموعد إماراتي مع معانقة الفضاء في رحلة تاريخية لمحطة الفضاء الدولية.
مصدر الفيديو: @SamadubaiTV pic.twitter.com/li0teh9m2f— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 25, 2019
Organizers had said they’d announce the astronaut who’s going but instead gave just the launch date. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had already announced the astronauts’ names last September.
The UAE has a fledgling space program with big ambitions. It launched its first locally made satellite, KhalifaSat, in October from Japan. It wants to launch a probe to Mars in 2020.
The UAE also says it wants to colonize Mars by 2117, with a fully functioning city of 600,000.
.@MBRSpaceCentre: The first #UAE astronaut to venture to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz mission this year will be taking part in scientific research. pic.twitter.com/muNqgT8wNK
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 25, 2019
