UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is hoping that his next voyage to space will include a visit to a planned station in the Moon’s orbit.
Nasa has plans to build a small station – called Lunar Gateway – that would begin to orbit the Moon by the end of this decade.
Astronauts would use the structure as a base before descending to the lunar surface to carry out exploration missions.
Dr Al Neyadi, 42, was speaking at a briefing on Monday, hours after he landed in Abu Dhabi from Houston, Texas.
As you know, space has a lot of effects. We don't know what could happen. Bodies receive a lot of radiation
Sultan Al Neyadi
He received a grand reception in his home country after completing a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.
“We all know about the Gateway,” Dr Al Neyadi said in a response to a question by The National.
“It's a proposed station that will orbit the Moon, so I would love to be part of it.”
The station is part of Nasa's Artemis programme, which aims to put humans on the Moon for long-term missions.
Space agencies are looking to retire the ISS by the end of this decade due to rising costs and ageing infrastructure. Focus has instead shifted to missions to the Moon and Mars.
The National reported last year that the UAE was exploring ways of helping design the Gateway, including providing an airlock module on the station.
This is an airtight room that astronauts would use to enter and exit the space station.
It would be a turning point for the UAE's space programme, which could help give Emirati astronauts access to the Moon.
Dr Al Neyadi said that training for these kinds of missions is crucial.
“I would to love to go there but it depends on the opportunity and suitability for the mission,” he said.
“As you know, space has a lot of effects. We don't know what could happen. Bodies receive a lot of radiation.
“We're still under the process of identifying what sort of impact the six months in space has had on my body.”
Spend time in nature
Dr Al Neyadi, born and raised in Al Ain, also spoke about what he plans to do now that he is back home.
The father of six wants to spend time in nature and with his children, as well as pray.
His daughter and two of his sons greeted their father on Monday as he exited the aircraft.
“I think it was good to see all of them here and I said hello to all of them,” said Dr Al Neyadi.
“So, if I go to home tonight, I think first thing I'm going to do is sleep and then would love to go out into the nature.
“I would love to pray and spend some quality time with the family. Explain everything to them and answer questions they'll have.”
More missions for Emirati astronauts
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre hopes to secure missions to the ISS every two to three years.
It also has Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla in its astronaut corps.
Ms Al Matrooshi, the first Emirati woman to be selected as an astronaut, and Mr Al Mulla are currently training in Nasa's Johnson Space Centre in Houston.
They will become eligible for missions once they graduate early next year.
Maj Al Mansouri, who spent eight days aboard the ISS in 2019, said at the briefing that he was proud of Dr Al Neyadi.
“In this second mission, we've proved to everyone that if you're dedicated, you can achieve anything,” he said.
“We were happy to see his smile after he landed. This mission wasn't easy – it was six months in space, but it's going be written in history and we're all very proud of this.”
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
More on Quran memorisation:
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')
Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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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.”
