Sultan Al Neyadi to address pupils in Mauritius from space

This will be the Emirati astronaut's first live call outside the UAE

Sultan Al Neyadi during his first ‘ A Call From Space’ video chat with the public. Pawan Singh / The National

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is taking his "A Call From Space" initiative global and will be speaking to pupils in Mauritius from the International Space Station this week.

He will answer questions from pupils and space enthusiasts on Thursday, 3pm GST.

He arrived on the space station on March 3 to carry out more than 200 experiments for scientists around the world, including in the UAE.

The live call is part of the A Call From Space educational initiative in which Dr Al Neyadi interacts with space enthusiasts.

Dr Al Neyadi, 41, held his first live video call with the public in March at the Dubai Opera, an event that was attended by 1,900 students, police officers and residents.

Dressed in a blue astronaut jumpsuit, he took questions about how life had been since arriving at the orbiting laboratory.

One of the pupils asked him what his biggest challenge had been.

“The space environment is very difficult, but we are getting more familiar day after day,” Dr Al Neyadi said. “I can be upside down, but I won't have that feeling.”

About 400 guests are expected to attend the latest event, to watch the Emirati astronaut float inside the orbiting laboratory and hear him speak.

The special long distance call highlights the strong ties between the UAE and the island nation.

An agreement is in place between the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and Mauritius to support its space sector.

The agreement between MBRSC and Mauritius includes sending Mauritian payloads on the PHI-1 mission, as well as training the island's engineers.

PHI-1 is being developed under the Payload Hosting Initiative, a platform by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and MBRSC that offers opportunities in space to start-ups and countries developing their own space programmes.