The UAE’s first two astronauts have graduated from Nasa’s basic training programme and are now eligible for space missions led by the US space agency.
Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi were awarded their Nasa astronaut pins on Sunday, signifying that they are ready for missions to the International Space Station and beyond.
Both will now begin training for the Nasa-SpaceX Crew-6 mission, a six-month science trip to the orbiting laboratory.
Only one of them will fly to space, while the other will be the back-up astronaut for the mission.
“It's an exceptional feeling when 20 months of assiduous training pays off,” said Dr Al Neyadi, a former IT professional who will probably be the astronaut who makes the journey.
“A big thank you to MBRSC [Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre] and the Nasa team, my colleague Hazza and everyone who supported me in being awarded the Nasa astronaut pin.
“Our training continues towards achieving bigger goals.”
Maj Al Mansouri, a former fighter jet pilot for the UAE Armed Forces, became the first Emirati in space when he launched to the ISS on a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2019 for an eight-day trip. He could be the back-up astronaut for the latest mission.
Training for the new mission
The pair's basic training at Nasa involved learning how to perform spacewalks, the systems of the ISS, operating the station’s robotic arm Canadarm2 and other robotics.
Now, they will start mission training, including learning the systems of the SpaceX Dragon capsule, the spacecraft placed on top of the Falcon 9 rocket, which delivers the astronauts to the ISS.
On the SpaceX Crew-6 mission, the Emirati astronaut will serve as a mission specialist, alongside Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander, and Warren Hoburg, who will serve as Dragon’s pilot.
During the astronaut’s stay on the station, he will carry out an educational campaign for youth in the Middle East and several scientific experiments.
Because both Maj Al Mansouri and Dr Al Neyadi are qualified to perform spacewalks, a trip outside of the station could also be on the cards.
What are the Nasa astronaut pins?
Nasa has been awarding lapel pins since 1963 to astronauts who complete basic training.
The silver ones are given to those who have completed their training, but are yet to fly to space.
Gold ones are awarded to astronauts who have already flown to space.
Maj Al Mansouri was given the gold one during Sunday's ceremony, while Dr Al Neyadi received the silver one.
Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
RIDE%20ON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Larry%20Yang%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jackie%20Chan%2C%20Liu%20Haocun%2C%20Kevin%20Guo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
