Related: Who are the UAE's new astronauts?
The UAE has selected two new Emiratis to be part of its astronaut corps, including the Arab world’s first female astronaut.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Saturday that Nora Al Matrooshi, 27, had been selected to be part of the country's astronaut corps.
Mohammed Al Mulla was also chosen.
"We announce today ... two new Emirati astronauts ... among them the first Arab [woman] astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.
"They have been chosen from among more than 4,000 applicants and their training will soon begin with the Nasa astronaut programme. We congratulate the country. We count on them to raise the name of the UAE in the sky."
The duo are now colleagues of Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, and reserve astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.
They were chosen from 4,305 Emiratis who applied – including 1,400 female applicants.
Progress is being made by different space agencies to create gender equality in the space sector, which has been male-dominated since the early days of space exploration in the 1960s.
As of 2020, of more than 550 astronauts who had gone to space, only 65 were women.
The selection of the two new astronauts echoes the UAE’s focus on equal opportunities for women.
Selection process
The 4,305 applicants were chosen based on age and educational background. A total of 2,099 candidates then passed the IQ, personality and technical assessments.
Only 122 made it to the interview round. Of these, 61 candidates took part in preliminary and advanced medical examinations.
Fourteen passed a final round of interviews and evaluations, which the UAE's first two astronauts and two female Nasa astronauts participated in.
Four candidates passed fitness, communications and teamwork tests, from whom the new astronauts were selected.
Salem Al Marri, head of the astronaut programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (Mbrsc), said the space centre's goal was pick the best out of the lot.
"The team at Mbrsc has worked tirelessly after receiving applications to evaluate them according to specific criteria and standards, and then conducted successive evaluations to ensure the selection of the best candidates, until we reached this point to announce the new astronauts," he said.
Training stage
Ms Al Matrooshi and Mr Al Mulla will join the first two astronauts for training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, US.
The start of their journey into the UAE's Astronaut Programme will be different to that undertaken by Maj Al Mansouri and Mr Al Neyadi, who were trained by the Russians after they were selected.
The two Emiratis spent a year training in Star City, in western Russia, for the first space mission, that included a week for Maj Al Mansouri on the International Space Station.
Now the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and Nasa have signed an agreement to train four Emirati astronauts.
Maj Al Mansouri and Mr Al Neyadi have already completed six months of training under Nasa’s Astronaut Candidate Training Programme.
The two new astronauts will begin their training once the new class begins at the end of the year.
Once completed, all of four them will be qualified for Nasa-led space missions.
Yousuf Al Shaibani, director-general of Mbrsc, said the selection of the two new astronauts would help the nation continue to write a new scientific history for the Arab region in the field of space exploration.
"With the first batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, we were able to catch the world's attention, by raising the UAE flag on the International Space Station," he said.
"We still remember the pride that swept the country when the first Emirati astronaut took off to space. Today, we are moving towards achieving another momentous occasion by announcing the second batch and will continue on our plans to enhance the capabilities of Emirati youth in the space sector.”
Female firsts in the space sector
• In 1963, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space. She was selected from more than 400 applicants.
• The former Soviet Union sent the second woman to space in 1982. Svetlana Savitskaya was also the first woman to perform a spacewalk.
• US space agency Nasa sent Sally Ride into space in 1983. She was the first American female astronaut.
• The International Space Station had its first female commander in 2007, when Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson took charge.
• The first all-female spacewalk took place in 2019, by Nasa astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch.
• Ms Koch also set the record for the single longest spaceflight by a woman, after spending 328 days on the ISS.
• In 1992, Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman to go to space.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The specs
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Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
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Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
The biog
Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages
Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”
Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”
Favourite film: “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”
Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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