Watch LIVE: Sultan AlNeyadi returns to UAE today

From royals to ministers, top officials, students, businessmen, and residents, an excited nation awaits the return of its Emirati hero who journeyed from the desert to space. Sultan AlNeyadi will return to the UAE today (Monday, September 18), after successfully completing the longest Arab space mission.

For six months, he raised the UAE flag high and proud aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and even stepped out of the orbital outpost for seven hours to become the first Arab spacewalker.

Dubbed #SultanHomecoming, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will stream AlNeyadi’s return to the UAE live from 5.30pm.

A Khaleej Times team will be on the ground to give a blow-by-blow account of his triumphant homecoming on its digital and social media platforms.

The 42-year-old astronaut spent about 4,400 hours in space and returned to Earth on September 4 in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. He conducted over 200 experiments aboard the ISS that took 585 hours and collaborated with 10 international space agencies and 25 UAE and global universities.

The astronaut, who has maintained multiple times that he is ready for his next mission, will advocate all things science back on Earth. With outreach programmes and talks, he will inspire the next generation of space travellers and scientists.

Taking to platform X, UAE’s first astronaut, Hazzaa AlMansoori — who is the Astronauts Office Manager at the MBRSC — revealed that AlNeyadi will share his unique experience with different entities such as schools and universities.

• Watch: Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi expresses his gratitude before highly-anticipated UAE return