UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi tries on his SpaceX flight suit to ensure it is ready for his departure from the ISS. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / social media
UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi tries on his SpaceX flight suit to ensure it is ready for his departure from the ISS. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / social media
UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi tries on his SpaceX flight suit to ensure it is ready for his departure from the ISS. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / social media
UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi tries on his SpaceX flight suit to ensure it is ready for his departure from the ISS. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / social media

Sultan Al Neyadi tries on SpaceX suit before return trip to Earth


Sarwat Nasir
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UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has tried on his SpaceX flight suit to ensure it is ready for his trip back to Earth.

Dr Al Neyadi will depart the International Space Station on Saturday, bringing his six-month science mission to an end.

He will return to Earth with three of his colleagues on board a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

A video posted on Dr Al Neyadi's social media channels on Wednesday showed him putting on the spacesuit to check it fit.

"I tested the SpaceX suit to make sure it didn't need any adjustments after spending so much time in space," he said.

"We will wear this suit again in a few days, God willing, when we return via the Dragon vehicle."

Dr Al Neyadi will wear the suit during departure from the ISS, entry into Earth's atmosphere and splashdown. He and his colleagues can take their suits off once the capsule is in a stable flight path after undocking from the station.

Nasa tracking Hurricane Idalia in Florida

Meanwhile, Nasa has been monitoring Hurricane Idalia, which has made landfall in Florida.

The US space agency is assessing what effect the storm could have on the recovery of the capsule, called Endeavour, once it has splashed down off the coast of Florida.

Idalia has swept into Georgia after hitting in Florida on Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

"Joint teams are monitoring weather forecasts across seven potential splashdown sites off the coast of Florida and any impacts Hurricane Idalia may have on recovery operations," Nasa said on Wednesday.

Dr Al Neyadi and his colleagues will spend their final days on board the ISS handing over their tasks to a new crew that arrived at the station last week.

Dr Al Neyadi's crew are also carrying out checks on the capsule to ensure they will have a safe flight home.

"The Earth-bound foursome has been handing over its responsibilities to the newly arrived crew while preparing for the return to Earth’s gravity environment," Nasa said.

"The four crewmates this week have been packing Endeavour, reviewing deorbit and splashdown procedures and talking to Nasa and SpaceX ground support personnel."

Nasa said that it would release the timetable of the crew's return trip once it was available.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: September 01, 2023, 9:16 AM