What UAE astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri will take to space

The Emirati will be carrying 10kg of cargo to the ISS including a UAE flag and Emirati food

Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri with Roscosmos commander Oleg Skripochka and American Nasa astronaut Jessica Meir. The ISS will sample Emirati food sent into space by Maj Al Mansouri Courtesy Dubai Media Office

When Maj Hazza Al Mansouri goes to space next month, he will be carrying 10kg of cargo — courtesy of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

The shipment includes items related to UAE heritage, culture and history. These include:

• The country’s flag and logos, which will be placed in museums or distributed to the UAE’s leadership upon Maj Al Mansouri’s return.

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• Thirty Al Ghaf tree seeds that will be planted in celebration of the Year of Tolerance — which  has a branch from the Ghaf tree as its logo.

• Maj Al Mansouri’s personal belongings, including family photos and other souvenirs.

• Emirati food, which will be served to the rest of the astronauts at the ISS as part of a cultural exchange.

• A photograph of UAE Founding Father Sheikh Zayed with US astronauts and members of the Apollo space programme, taken in 1976.

• A copy of My Story, by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in which the first chapter talks about the story of the day Sheikh Mohammed announced the launch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, and MBRSC's book The Race to Space.

• Materials related to scientific experiments to be conducted at the ISS, such as inflatable balls representing Earth and Mars, among others.

• The three winning entries of MBRSC’s Send to Space competition in the categories of poetry, stories and paintings.

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Salem Al Marri, assistant director general of the Science and Technology Sector and Head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, speaks at a press conference about the progress of UAE astronauts ahead of the launch on September 25. Pawan Singh / The National