SpaceX has released new images of UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi in his pressure suit — the one he will be wearing during his flight to the International Space Station on February 26.
The shots were taken during a training session last month at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Dr Al Neyadi, 41, and his three crew mates will head to the space station on a Dragon capsule, which will sit atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 11.07am GST.
There are also new images of him training inside a crew capsule, which he and his colleagues will be flying in for about 22 hours to reach to the orbiting science laboratory.
Dr Al Neyadi, who comes from an IT engineering background, is now preparing to enter a mandatory two-week quarantine.
All astronauts isolate before going into space to prevent any bacteria from spreading on their spaceship and on the ISS.
He gave his last public address at a press event in Dubai on Thursday, where he spoke about the science experiments he will be doing during his mission and how the training has been.
How will UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi live in the space station?
"I remember when they said it's a six month mission, I thought 'what would I do there for so long?'," he said during the event.
"But with the activities there, that’s actually still not enough time."
Dr Al Neyadi will be carrying out about 20 experiments given by universities across the UAE, but he will also be doing research work assigned by Nasa and maintenance work on the station.
Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, said that he was excited for his colleague.
Maj Al Mansouri is the back-up astronaut on this mission, and Dr Al Neyadi was the back-up for his mission in 2019.
"Sultan communicated with me on the ISS and he gave me updates. Now, I’ll be in mission control telling him that everyone is watching him from Earth," said Maj Al Mansouri.
"My advice is to be interested in everything that’s happening and remember the first moment you feel zero-gravity."
Dr Al Neyadi's launch will be streamed live on Nasa, SpaceX and MBRSC websites and social media channels.
