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Watch: UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi plays 'space darts' on board ISS

They may be 400km above earth on the International Space Station, but it is not just all work and no play for these astronauts

Published: Fri 21 Jul 2023, 3:33 PM

Updated: Fri 21 Jul 2023, 3:33 PM

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We are onto the weekend after another working week and it is time to unwind. But ever wondered if astronauts in space have a weekend and do they unwind?

Of course, they do.

They may be 400km above earth on the International Space Station, but it is not just all work and no play for these astronauts.

UAE astronaut has been giving us regular updates on what it is like to be living in space. And on Friday, the 42-year-old Al Ain resident, revealed that he and his crew members do unwind over the weekend by playing what they call 'space games.'


AlNeyadi, who became the second astronaut from the UAE to go to space, put out a video on social media, where he and the crew members are seen playing 'space darts.'

"During the weekends, we sometimes spend our time playing games. It is one of our favourite activities to do together. These games are the perfect way to unwind after work and prepare ourselves for the tasks ahead," AlNeyadi said in the tweet.

The two-minute video shows AlNeyadi and his crewmates indulge in an exciting game of space darts.

Space darts is aiming a ping pong ball through a circle and scoring points for every successful attempt.

One of the crew members gives running commentary of the action that unfolds.

He begins by saying: "Welcome to the space games and today we are playing space dart starting with Andrey (Fedyaev) and Steve (Stephen Bowen).

After their game, next is a match-up between AlNeyadi and another crew member. And the Brighton graduate shows he has the game by racing to a 2-0 lead.

AlNeyadi misses the third attempt as the ping pong ball hits the edge of the circle. But he bounces back by scoring the third point.

Meanwhile, his opponent, who has failed to score until now, gets his first point by sending the ball through the smaller circle.

AlNeyadi misses scoring through the smaller circle on his next attempt but nonetheless, it was all fun and games for the crew members.

In the end, commander Sergey Prokopyev emerges as the winner of the 'space games.'

The crew members onboard the ISS are Sergey Prokopyev, flight engineer Dmitri Petelin, Nasa flight engineer Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, Andrey Fedyaev and Al Neyadi.

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