Dr. Sultan Al Neyadi Marks First Anniversary of Historic ISS Mission

UAE astronaut-turned-minister Dr Sultan Al Neyadi on Sunday recalled his experience with microgravity as he marked the first anniversary of his record-setting space mission. Dr Al Neyadi, who is Minister of State for Youth Affairs, conducted the longest Arab space mission and became the first Arab to do a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). He took to social media to commemorate the launch of his historic mission.

“A year ago, I experienced my first moments aboard the ISS. I still recall each moment in microgravity with the crew,” he posted.

Dr Al Neyadi was part of Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission that launched on March 2, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida and docked to the space station the next day.

As he celebrated the beginning of his six-month-long space odyssey, Dr Al Neyadi highlighted the country’s ongoing journey of exploration and discovery in space with two new astronauts all set to graduate in a couple of days.

He was referring to the second batch of Emirati astronauts Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammad Al Mulla who are scheduled to graduate from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston on March 5.

“The journey continues,” Dr Al Neyadi added. He also shared images showing the rocket and the spacecraft in which he blasted off to space, the big family of Expedition 68 crew and a group photo of him along with his UAE astronaut colleagues Hazzaa Al Mansoori, Al Matrooshi and Al Mulla.

Sultan of Space to minister

The entire country had eagerly celebrated the historic space mission of its second astronaut, Dr Neyadi, who was affectionately dubbed the ‘Sultan of Space’. Landmarks across the nation were adorned with messages promoting the UAE Mission 2. Six months later, the country celebrated his homecoming after the successful mission, which also saw him conduct over 200 scientific experiments on the ISS.

UAE leaders hailed the return of Dr Al Neyadi as a moment of national pride while welcoming him at the all-new terminal in Abu Dhabi International Airport that was decked up exclusively for the occasion. Several accolades were bestowed upon him, and he was appointed as the Minister of State for Youth in January this year.