UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has completed one month on the International Space Station.
He is now an experienced astronaut, having spent much of his time doing maintenance work and complex science investigations since arriving there on March 3.
The six-month trip is the Arab world's first long-duration space mission, helping place the UAE and Dr Al Neyadi, 41, in the history books.
"No matter where I am in the world, my path always leads me home. And even from Space, the site of our beautiful country takes my breath away every time," Dr Al Neyadi tweeted on March 14, along with his first photo of the UAE from the orbiting laboratory.
Now that he has lived on the ISS for a full 30 days, The National takes a look at his activities so far.
Science experiments
Dr Al Neyadi has been assigned more than 200 experiments and research work by Nasa and various UAE universities.
He spent his first week getting used to microgravity and then harvesting tomatoes for his scientific work and the crew's consumption.
Astronauts have been growing fruits and vegetables in space for many years. This is vital to meeting the goal of establishing a base on the Moon or other planets and also helps to reduce their dependence on resupply missions sent from Earth.
More experiments and fresh supplies arrived at the ISS about a week later, which has kept Dr Al Neyadi and his colleagues busy.
He has been studying human heart tissue as part of research that could help scientists back on Earth devise therapy and medications to prevent people from developing heart disease.
He was also the test subject of another experiment that will help researchers study astronauts' sleep quality in space.
Dr Al Neyadi wore a sleep monitoring headband for a full day last week and then transferred the data to the European Physiology Module laptop.
He has also been testing technology in space that 3D-prints knee cartilage tissue.
Called the BioFabrication Facility, the portable equipment could one day allow doctors to treat injuries in space and remote locations on Earth.
First haircut and spare time
After spending nearly three weeks on the ISS, Dr Al Neyadi was long overdue for a haircut.
His Nasa colleague Frank Rubio trimmed the Emirati astronaut's hair on Wednesday using a machine hooked to a suction tube, which ensured there was no hair floating around.
The astronauts do get some spare time on the ISS, with most taking the opportunity to call their families, read, film content for social media or nap.
Photography
Dr Al Neyadi has been using a lot of his spare time to do photography work for the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and his own social media channels.
Astronauts are required to use professional cameras to take photos of Earth, as they go around the planet every 90 minutes, seeing 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets.
So far, Dr Al Neyadi has captured the UAE and a sandstorm in the Sahara desert, in Egypt.
He has also sent back photos and videos of himself and the science work he has been doing.
"The words of late Sheikh Zayed, 'Egypt's renaissance is a renaissance for all Arabs', remain just as powerful and relevant today as when they were first spoken," he tweeted on Tuesday along with a video of Egypt.
"His enduring love for Egypt has seeped into the heart of Emiratis nationwide.
"As I gaze down from space on this land, I extend my greetings to Egypt and its warm people."
Calling home
As the first Arab astronaut to go on a long-duration mission, Dr Al Neyadi has been tasked with a lot of public outreach activities.
He uses some of his time to do live video chats with pupils in UAE schools, has recorded videos that can be used in classrooms and also regularly posts updates on social media.
His first live chat from the ISS was held with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Repair work
Astronauts need to have a versatile skillset while in space.
They are in charge of doing scientific work but also help to keep the space station in good shape.
Dr Al Neyadi also did maintenance work, including helping to fix the toilet and fixing the paint in the bathroom.
What's next?
With five more months remaining in the mission, Dr Al Neyadi will use the time to complete all of the experiments and work assigned to him by Nasa, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and UAE universities.
He will also be welcoming two Saudi astronauts arriving at the station in mid-May for a 10-day mission.
This means there will be three Arabs on the space station together at the same time - a record number.
Dr Al Neyadi could also be possibly performing the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut.
