UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
The UAE’s first astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori is all set to land back on earth at 2.59pm (UAE time) today. Here’s a round-up of his eight-day mission.
Day 1: Launch to history
Hazzaa launched into space at 5.57pm UAE time from Baikonur in Kazakhstan onboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft along with Nasa flight engineer Jessica Meir and Russian commander Oleg Skripochka.
Day 2: First words from outer space
“We have reached safely, thanks to Allah. Sending my hello to all my people in the UAE,” he had said
He did his first video call with mission control and then his family. “I am so happy to hear your voices. I wish I could have shared what I was seeing with you – it’s a beautiful scenery of sunsets and sunrises of the earth.”
He prayed, recorded a 15-minute film about his activities on the ISS and began his experiments.
Day 3: A royal call
Hazzaa received a video call from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
He conducted two live sessions with school students and the public. He answered questions about how the launch to space felt, and about his thoughts when he saw earth from space
He recorded a one-hour film documenting life aboard the ISS
He conducted an experiment on fluidics to observe how liquids move in weightlessness.
Day 4: How’s life (in space)?
Another live session via HAM radio was organised between him, school students and public, where they asked them questions about life in space, including whether there was enough food at the ISS, how the station was built, how he spent his free time, how he slept, and what astronauts do in case they fall sick
He carried on with his fluidics experiments
Day 5: First spatial tweet
He shared a series of photos, where he was seen conducting an experiment on osteology, which measures bone status indexes, body composition, and endocrine regulation in astronauts.
He also calculated his own body mass index to study the impact of microgravity on bone density
He also tweeted for the first time from space – a photo of the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft docked at the ISS, with a stunning view of earth underneath.
Day 6: To UAE with love from ISS
Hazzaa engaged with social media users once again by tweeting a photo of UAE’s Liwa desert from space
MBRSC organised two video calls between him and school students
He conducted studies on autonomic regulation of cardiovascular system, central hemodynamic, and the influence of space flight factors on the spatial distribution of the energy of heart contraction.
Day 7: Dressed for the occasion
Hazzaa took social media by storm after posting photos of himself wearing the Kandura onboard the station
He also uploaded a photo of the UAE as seen from space on his social media
He studied the mechanisms of action and efficiency of different countermeasures against disturbances in the astronaut’s motor activity under space flight conditions.
Day 8: Holy sight
He shared a photo of Makkah from space
He did a radio call with selected journalists in the UAE
He and his return journey crewmates on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft did undocking preparations
