In September 2019 Emirati astronaut, Al Mansoon, made history by becoming the first Arab on the International Space Station. The former military pilot was invite to register for the UAE Astronaut Program through the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center. He went through training at Yuri Gagarian Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia in preparation for the 8 day ISS mission.
When Al Mansouri wasn’t conducting experiments, hosting live streams or praying in microgravity, he was teaching other astronauts the heritage and culture of the Emiratis. As part of a cultural exchange, Al Mansouri slipped out of his usual clothing and into something a bit more traditional.
Donning the kandura, Al Mansouri also sported a hamdaniya wrap. Back down on Earth, this is often seen as a more casual Emirati dress, worn outside of work and in more relaxed settings. It is thought Al Mansouri opted for this traditional garment over the more commonly seen ghutrah wrap with an agal as the microgravity environment would’ve had the wrap float around more.
Al Mansoori will offer his fellow astronauts three Emirati foods – madrooba, saloona, and balaleet, a statement said. The event will be the first of its kind, with Gulf inspired cuisine being tasted in a non-gravitational environment.”I’m honored to be the first astronaut to host an Emirati night on board the ISS to promote the Emirati culture, which I am proud to belong to, and share some delicious Emirati food.
So how did the UAE’s first Emirati astronaut, who is a Muslim, pray five times a day and figure out which way is Makkah? Astronauts at the International Space Station orbit the Earth every 90 minutes. This means they will witness a staggering 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. The answer can be found in a prayer booklet issued by Dubai’s Islamic Affairs Authority: Al Mansouri should attempt to face Earth while praying but if it is too difficult, and he risks missing a prayer, he should pray in any direction.
Credit: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/AFP Photo
The Hope Probe is the UAE’s latest and most ambitious step in its burgeoning space sector. The UAE has launched satellites before but they were developed with South Korean partners. The country founded its space agency in 2014, and has set ambitious targets including a colony on the Martian surface by 2117.
Government officials have previously spoken of the space program as a catalyst for the country’s growing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) sector.
Simply making it this far was an impressive feat for the Gulf country. Most Mars missions take between 10 to 12 years to develop — but UAE scientists had just six years to carry out the project.
To build the spacecraft, they partnered with a team in the US, at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. And to find a novel science objective for Hope’s mission, they consulted the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), a forum created by NASA to plan explorations of Mars.
They decided to use Hope to build the first full picture of Mars’ climate throughout the Martian year, said Sarah Al Amiri, the mission’s science lead.
“The data gathered by the probe will add a new dimension to the human knowledge,” said Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Twitter. “This is our latest contribution to the world.”
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