UAE's wise leadership conducts video call with first Emirati astronaut aboard ISS

Dubai, UAE, 28 September 2019:  Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori received a video call from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai on his second day aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This step confirms the constant support provided by the UAE’s wise leadership to UAE citizens where ever they are.

AlMansoori thanked the UAE's wise leadership for their unlimited support to Emirati youth, stressing that he is proud to be the first Emirati to carry the UAE flag into space. He also expressed his ambitions that the experiences carried out by him and his colleagues would contribute to serving humanity.

Communicating with the ground station in Dubai

AlMansoori began his second day aboard the ISS by communicating with the team at the ground stations in Moscow, Dubai, and Houston, and informed them of his daily schedule. Two live sessions, one via video and one via radio, were organised between AlMansoori and school students and the public. AlMansoori answered questions about how the launch to space felt, and about his thoughts when he saw the Earth from Space and the UAE, to which he answered it was the best feeling he got. Students also asked about microgravity and how to cope with it.  During the video call, AlMansoori was at Columbus Laboratory aboard the ISS.

These live sessions took place at MBRSC, in Dubai, in cooperation with NASA, where the audience had the opportunity to ask questions that were answered by AlMansoori.

Checking AlMansoori’s health status

AlMansoori also spoke to Dr. Hanan AlSuwaidi, the flight surgeon for the mission, who will be following his medical status throughout his time in space.

Documenting life aboard the ISS

AlMansoori recorded a one-hour film documenting life aboard the ISS and his activities aboard, and then recorded his diary for 15 minutes. 
Al Mansouri recorded an hour-long film documenting the life of the International Space Station and its components, as well as the activities of the astronauts, and a 15-minute diary. 

Daily scientific missions

AlMansoori conducted an experiment on Fluidics (fluid dynamics in space), to observe how liquids move in weightlessness. The first part of the experiment dealt with technical aspects of liquid leakage during movement in space, while the second part monitored the wave disturbance on the surface of a liquid layer in microgravity.