UAE star gazers are set for a reminder of one of the country's greatest achievements on Monday evening - when the International Space Station looms into view.
Less than nine months after Hazza Al Mansouri etched his name in history by boarding the vast craft, the ISS will be visible to the naked eye.
The floating science laboratory is due to be make its presence felt in the skies above the Emirates - clouds permitting - at roughly 7.52pm.
According to experts at Nasa, the ISS is the third brightest object in the sky, outshone only by the Sun and the Moon.
Space officials said it appears like a fast-moving plane or star when observed from back on planet Earth.
The ISS hurtles through space at a speedy 28,000 kilometres per hour, making 16 orbits of the Earth and passing through 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.
The station has been continuously occupied since November, 2000 and has had 240 space travellers from 19 countries on board in that time.
Among this number, is the UAE's Hazza Al Mansouri, who journeyed to the ISS last September, cementing his legacy as the country's first man in space.
Maj Al Mansouri spent eight days on the ISS, where he carried out experiments and held several live Q&A sessions with students. He returned to Earth on October 3.
During his time on the station, the former military pilot became the first Emirati in space, the first to hold a dinner featuring traditional local food and the first to give a tour of the ISS in Arabic.
The ISS is made up of many modules, some are research laboratories, others are cargo storage or living spaces.
Different modules are run by different space agencies, such as the Japanese Experiment Module - known as Kibo - which was developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) as a science module.
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The UAE's first astronaut, Maj Hazza Al Mansouri, takes part in a Q&A session from the International Space Station with an audience at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai, in 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, talks with Emirati astronaut Maj Hazza Al Mansouri, during a live satellite feed from the International Space Station. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office -
The Emirati astronaut takes questions from the audience gathered at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
An aspiring young astronaut poses in front of a picture of the first Emirati in space, Maj Hazza Al Mansouri. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
A woman films the Q&A session with Maj Hazza Al Mansouri from the International Space Station. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
The audience at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre are delighted to hear from Maj Hazza Al Mansouri. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
An aspiring young astronaut and her family at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre event. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
A young audience member celebrates the first Emirati in space. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid talks to Maj Hazza Al Mansouri. Courtesy Dubai Media Office -
Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, during a live satellite feed from the International Space Station. Courtesy Dubai Media Office -
Audience members at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre event sample space food. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Emirati astronaut Maj Hazza Al Mansouri gives his audience on Earth a tour of the International Space Station. Screengrab via Youtube Live -
Maj Hazza Al Mansouri demonstrates the effects of weightlessness. Screengrab via Youtube Live -
Hazza Al Mansouri takes a live Q&A from space. He spent eight days on the International Space Station, in a mission from September 25 to October 3, 2019. Screengrab via Youtube Live -
Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, takes live Q&A from space and gives a station tour. Screengrab via Youtube Live
Nasa has a dedicated website keeping space enthusiasts up to date with when the space station will be visible in their part of the world.
The site indicates the space station will be visible in the UAE for about four minutes on Monday night and for a further three minutes on Wednesday, from 7.53pm.
