Watch: UAE astronaut, Crew-6 members speak for the first time after splashdown

UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and other members of Crew-6 discussed their 6-month mission aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. It was their first media appearance after their return from space.

"It's really nice to be back and meeting with people, people who have supported us throughout the mission," AlNeyadi said.

AlNeyadi was asked about plans for himself and also the UAE space agency for the human spaceflight programme, especially since he had released a final video from space which said: “Space, this is not a goodbye. I will see you later, whether on a new mission to the ISS or a farther destination. I thank my beloved country for turning our dreams into achievements and all of you for your trust and affection. Wish us a safe return. We'll meet soon.”

To which, the 42-year-old from Al Ain said: "Indeed, our programme is continuous. It was announced to be sustainable from the first day. My mission is a continuation of the space programme starting from my colleague Hazza Al Mansouri, who flew in 2019. This is the second mission. We have astronauts under training that will finish next year. So it's a continuation of the human spaceflight and I'm happy actually to be part of it.

"And the UAE is committed to actually going further into space. And as you may know, UAE has signed the Artemis accords and hopefully we'll get to be part of it in the future. And yeah, I'm really happy with the overall performance of the the activity in the UAE and I think it's going to be really, really interesting in the near future," he added.

He and his Crew-6 mates had splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after spending 186 days in space, with AlNeyadi's mission becoming the longest in Arab history.

• Watch: UAE astronaut AlNeyadi's spacecraft streaks across night sky like shooting star