UAE astronaut at ISS: How Sultan AlNeyadi prepared for longest Arab space mission

UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi has begun his long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) — an assignment he has long trained for.

He has spent years learning everything that goes into living and working in space — from surviving the freezing weather in Russia and Europe, to flying a supersonic T-38 jet, and operating a Canadarm robotic hand.

AlNeyadi trained with Hazzaa AlMansoori, the first Emirati astronaut who blasted off to space in 2019, starting at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Moscow in September 2018.

The duo underwent intensive training to familiarise themselves with all sections and units of the ISS, including how to operate its devices and equipment; how to correct low pressure and prevent ammonia leak inside the station; and how to put out a fire.

They lived in a cold forest, too, performing daily tasks like preparing food in sub-zero temperatures.

They learnt how to use a camera to document events and take pictures of Earth from space, as well as communicate with the ground stations.

Over 1,400 hours of training

In all, they did more than 90 courses and clocked in more than 1,400 hours of training for UAE Mission 1 in September 2019, where AlMansoori served as the primary crew and AlNeyadi was the backup.

Following Al Mansoori’s successful sojourn in space, the UAE took its space exploration further and announced the Arab world’s first long-duration mission.

In 2019, both AlNeyadi and Al Mansoori continued their training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) to get familiar with microgravity that astronauts experience during space flight and at ISS. They were also trained for spacewalk training.

They also did water survival training at the Johnson Space Centre because the capsule that brings astronauts back to Earth from ISS will land splashdown in wate.

AlNeyadi and AlMansoori also learned to operate the Remote Manipulator System, Canadarm2. This 57.7-foot-long robotic arm is extensively used in capturing cargo spaceships, performing spacewalks, handling payloads and maintenance, and other activities aboard the ISS.

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