UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi was surprised with a birthday cake and other treats by his colleagues aboard the International Space Station.
Dr Al Neyadi turned 42 on Tuesday and spent some of the day celebrating with two Saudi astronauts and eight other crew members.
He also held a live call with relatives and pupils in his hometown, Al Ain, during which he spoke about missing food prepared by his mother.
"Celebrated my first birthday in space with colleagues who have become family!" Dr Al Neyadi tweeted on Thursday, with images of the party.
"Highlight of the day? A maple muffin top cake from the USA crew, a cinnamon bun with yoghurt and dry fruits from the Russian crew, topped off with wishes in Arabic.
"Truly a gravity-defying celebration!"
No real candle or fire was used, because that would be a safety hazard, instead they used a torch.
While there are limited food options in space, astronauts can take some traditional food items with them. Cargo resupply missions also keep the ISS pantry stocked.
However, it is most likely that the food is dehydrated, meaning all the water has been extracted from it.
This is because water is heavy and would take up too much weight on a spacecraft, as well as too much storage room on the ISS.
Astronauts add water to their food packets or reheat it to make it edible.
Meals on the ISS have improved over the years, thanks to a new oven that was installed two years ago.
Astronauts have been baking cookies and using vegetables grown on the station as part of their diet.
It is not clear if Dr Al Neyadi's cake and cinnamon bun came prepared from Earth, or were baked on the station.
Dr Al Neyadi arrived on the ISS on March 3 for a six-month science mission.
He has been taking part in science experiments and also carried out the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut, when he ventured outside for a seven-hour maintenance assignment.
He was joined by two Saudi astronauts, Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al Qarni, and two Americans on May 22, who arrived a day before his birthday.
Sultan Al Neyadi's special birthday - in pictures
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
