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UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi to return home in weeks; date announced

Crew-6 members have been living and working aboard orbital outpost since docking on March 3

UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi, the first Arab astronaut on a long-duration space mission, and his Crew-6 colleagues will return to Earth no earlier than September 1, US space agency Nasa confirmed on Thursday.

“Our #Crew6 astronauts have been living and working on the @Space_Station for nearly six months—now, they're about to come home,” Nasa posted on X (formerly Twitter), adding: “The crew’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, will undock from the space station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 1, splashing down off the coast of Florida.”

Crew-6 members AlNeyadi, Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev have been living and working aboard orbital outpost since docking on March 3, 2023. During the mission, the crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including student robotic challenges, plant genetics, and human health in microgravity to prepare for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth.

Waiting for Crew-7

The return of Crew-6 is dependent on the arrival of the next crew rotation mission. Nasa astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will fly to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft Endurance no earlier than August 25 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Centre, according to Nasa.

After docking, Crew-7 will be welcomed inside the ISS by the seven-member crew of Expedition 69, including AlNeyadi and the rest of Crew-6 who will not immediately return home as they have to finish first all handover protocols.

After the handover period, Crew-6 will undock from the space station aboard SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Endeavour and splashdown (a method of landing a spacecraft by parachute) off the coast of Tampa, Florida. They will then fly back to Nasa home base in Houston, Texas.

Adapting to life back on Earth

After living in microgravity for almost half a year, there will be changes in AlNeyadi’s body when he returns to Earth. In a recent interaction session with UAE students, AlNeyadi said: “After spending six months in space, when we return, we must adapt to walking and life in general. Typically, it takes about two weeks of training to readjust to life on Earth. During this time, we will conduct scientific experiments and physical exercises to return to a normal state.”

AlNeyadi, the first Arab astronaut who completed a historic spacewalk outside the ISS on April 28 this year, has so far conducted around 220 experiments and scientific studies in collaboration with UAE universities and international space agencies on how microgravity affects the human body. He has also done various maintenance work at different locations on the ISS and conducted several live interactions with youth and students to share valuable insights into life in space and the science associated with the UAE space mission.

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