UAE announces first astronaut from Gulf Arab nation will go into space in September
The UAE said on Monday it will send either Hazza al-Mansoori or Sultan al-Neyadi to the International Space Station on Sept. 25 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
The UAE says it wants to colonize Mars by 2117, with a fully functioning city of 600,000. (Image for representational purpose)
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-Neyadi to the International Space Station on Sept. 25 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories.
Read more stories for free with an Express account.
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.
