Islamabad: The United Arab Emirates embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday held a small gathering of officials to celebrate their country’s first astronaut space mission, becoming the second Arab nation after Saudi Arabia to make the journey into the largely unchartered frontiers of space.
The UAE Embassy in Islamabad celebrated the successful voyage of the country's first astronaut to space with a small gathering of officials at the embassy, on Sept. 25, 2019, to watch the spacecraft lift-off. Hazzaa Al-Mansoori is the first Arab astronaut to travel to the International Space Station. (AN Photos by Sib Kaifee)
UAE envoy, Hamad Obaid Al Zaabi, congratulated his colleagues, as astronaut retired Major Hazzaa Al-Mansoori, 35, rocketed toward the stars following a successful lift-off in a Russian Soyuz-MS-15 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome, making history as the first Arab to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Arab nation’s ambitious reach to the stars mission is a landmark milestone for its space program in Dubai under the guidance of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.
Speaking exclusively to Arab News, Al Zaabi said: “I think this is a great moment for not only the United Arab Emirates but for the Arab (world).”
“It is a huge mission for our brother Hazzaa Al-Mansoori. We are really proud of this man. Everyone in the Arab region… and in the world is proud of his achievement,” the UAE envoy said, and added that the Emirati astronaut had become exemplary for a new generation in the UAE, and represented the country’s efforts to invest in human resources and skill development.
The UAE Embassy in Islamabad celebrated the successful voyage of the country's first astronaut to space with a small gathering of officials at the embassy, on Sept. 25, 2019, to watch the spacecraft lift-off. Hazzaa Al-Mansoori is the first Arab astronaut to travel to the International Space Station. (AN Photos by Sib Kaifee)
Al-Mansoori will remain aboard the ISS for eight days with international astronauts to conduct scientific experiments.
Pakistan also plans to join the space race in 2022 by sending the country’s first man to outer space.
The South Asian country has inked an agreement with a Chinese company thorough its space agency, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, (SUPARCO) founded by Nobel laureate and renowned physicist Dr. Abdus Salam.
Last year, Pakistan propelled a remote sensing satellite into space for observational and optical purposes and another to monitor and collect data on weather patterns, environmental change, and agriculture into low earth orbit.
If Pakistan’s planned space mission succeeds, the Muslim majority country could join a rapidly forming league of space exploring countries.
