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UAE: Students to interact with astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi every week during his 6-month stay at ISS

The initiative will support in building a new generation of scientists, researchers and dreamers who will contribute to the Emirates' space programme

Published: Wed 1 Feb 2023, 7:44 PM

Updated: Thu 2 Mar 2023, 12:38 PM

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Students from schools across the UAE will be able to interact with astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi every week during his entire six months stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The initiative was announced during the opening of the 15th edition of the Emirates Literature Festival that kicked off in Dubai today.

According to Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation (ELF), the programme, called ELF in Space, is expected to engage, excite and educate students across the UAE. They will also be able to interact with other astronauts like Hazza Al Mansouri, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla.


This is part of a partnership between the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and the Emirates Literature Foundation. “Reading is also a key to the development of education, research and development and lifelong learning and expanding our horizon,” said Salem Al Marri, director general of the space centre. “These are all essential to a developing space programme which is why this partnership is vital to us.”

The partnership will also see ELF support all educational content for Dr Al Neyadi during his stay at the ISS. Al Marri said he hopes the initiative will support in building a new generation of scientists, researchers and dreamers who will contribute to the UAE’s space programme.

Emirates Literature Festival

One of the most notable events during the literature festival will be the discussion of the book Through My Eyes by Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The book, which provides rare insights into the life of the leader who was the world’s longest serving Minister of Finance when he died in March 2021, is a tribute to the overwhelming love and respect Sheikha Latifa has for her father’s life and values. It is also a remembrance and celebration of the many ways in which Sheikh Hamdan touched the lives of countless people.

15th edition of Lit Fest

Across the week-long event, the Emirates Literature festival will feature almost 300 sessions which includes live music, poetry performances, workshops, film screenings, and author sessions. Over 270 authors from 50 countries will participate in the festival that will take place from 1-6 February 2023.

The Festival will take place at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, and across the creek at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library and will bring several celebrities to town including Brian Cox, Emmy-award winning patriarch of the hit streaming series Succession; master-storytellers Alexander McCall Smith and Jeffrey Archer; children’s writers David Walliams; Indian journalist Barkha Dutt; award-winning Iraqi novelist Inaam Kachachi, notable Saudi poet Jassim Al Saheeh and Emirati author Maisoon Saker Al Qassimi, the 2022 winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

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