Hazza Al Mansoori
Today, the 25th of September 2019 will forever be remembered as the first Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansoori will be launched into space onboard the Soyuz Launch Vehicle, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Space Center in Kazakhstan, to board the International Space Station.
Earlier this week, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, got on a call to the country’s first astronaut, and his backup, Sultan Al Neyadi, to wish them well on their first mission.
According to WAM, during the call, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince stated, “Your historic expedition to the ISS ushers the United Arab Emirates in a monumental phase within its transformational development drive where the country is making unremitting efforts to achieve quantum leaps in areas of space at the hands of its youth. You’re embodying the hopes and ambitions of a nation that is steadfastly progressing, thanks to the visionary vision of our leaders, to fulfill our aspirations and achieve quantum supremacy across all fields. You both represent every Emirati and our nation is lucky to have cadres like yourselves.”
Hazza Al Mansoori and his fellow astronauts
The Emirati astronauts thanked Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE authorities for their support and responded by saying, “We are all proud of being representatives of our homeland on the International Space Station and raising the UAE flag onboard. This milestone represents reaping the fruits sown by late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan when he once received foreign cosmonauts; the Founding Father was then getting the nation geared for a brighter future and now we are now following in his footsteps.”
In the build up to the moment Hazza Al Mansoori will be launched into space, there is much excitement around the event in Abu Dhabi, especially on social media. A person dressed as an astronaut has been seen roaming around the Louvre in the UAE’s capital, and people are taking photos and uploading to social media platforms with the hashtag #FindTheAstronaut.
