Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi is due to return to Earth after a historic six-month mission in space, which marked the longest Arab space sojourn to date. With this, the UAE national become the first Arab to perform a spacewalk and welcome Saudi astronauts Ali al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi – the first Arab woman ever sent into orbit – on board the International Space Station (ISIS).

On September 2, al-Neyadi will leave ISS, where he has been working since March 3, to begin a 24-hour voyage back home.

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The Emirati astronaut – who has broken several records during his mission and conducted vital tests to help benefit life on Earth – will return with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on a SpaceX Dragon capsule with an expected splashdown off the coast of Florida, US, on Sunday.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi, from the United Arab Emirates, waves as the crew departs for the launch pad before launch to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2023. (Reuters)

“Sultan and Crew-6 are now preparing to return to Earth and we are ready to welcome them back,” Salem al-Marri, director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, which heads the UAE's astronaut programme, posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Record-breaking mission

His mission saw al-Neyadi – who is only the second person from his country to fly to space and the first to launch from US soil as part of a long-duration space station team – conduct more than 200 experiments on the orbiting outpost.

In April, he officially became the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk, for which he trained for more than 55 hours at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Johnson Space Center, Houston. During his spacewalk – which lasted seven hours – al-Neyadi worked to update the power channels on ISS.

“I didn’t feel it because I was really focusing on the mission and it was (a) really great feeling, just to see that you are floating in a spacesuit,” al-Neyadi told international media at the time. He has followed in the footsteps of other Arab astronauts, including Emirati Hazzaa al-Mansouri, who became the first Arab on the ISS in 2019, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan bin Salman, who became the first Arab to travel to space in 1985.

Experiments in space

Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi shares images of Saudi Arabia’s Mecca from space

Al-Neyadi conducted hundreds of experiments in space, ranging from human cell growth in space, controlling combustible materials in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, studying sleep quality intended to help develop therapies for astronauts to improve sleep quality and overall health during extended space missions, and the effects of microgravity on the human heart, as well as maintenance tasks onboard ISS.

Meeting Saudi astronauts

In May, al-Neyadi also witnessed firsthand, Saudi Arabia make history when it successfully sent two of its citizens – including the first-ever Arab female – to ISS – marking the Kingdom’s first nationals to foray into space in almost four decades.

Al-Neyadi was on hand to personally welcome Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali al-Qarni – part of the Axiom 2 space mission – on board ISS where the three Arab astronauts worked side-by-side for eight days. The mission made the Kingdom the first nation not part of the official ISS partnership to have two astronauts aboard the ISS at the same time. It also marked the first time astronauts from two Arab countries have met onboard ISS.

Crew member Rayyanah Barnawi representing Saudi Arabia gestures before the planned Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, U.S. May 21, 2023. (Reuters)

During their mission, Barnawi and al-Qarni conducted experiments, including research into predicting and preventing cancer and a study into how to generate artificial rain in future human settlements on the Moon and Mars. During their time on board, al-Neyadi worked alongside Barnawi with her investigation of human immune cells.

Images from a different realm

A view of a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert taken by astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi. (Twitter)

During his time in space, al-Neyadi orbited Earth multiple times, witnessing 16 sunrises and sunsets each day, he revealed on social media platform X, on which he has posted hundreds of times from space to share his day-to-day life on board ISIS.

His posts included stunning images of countries across the planet, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UK, Frace, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Gibraltar, Iraq, the entire Asian continent, India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Egypt, Spain, Syria, Brazil, Australia, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Yemen, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Morocco, among others.

During his six-month spell on ISS, he captured images of world-famous landmarks such as Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Himalayas, Egypt’s Suez Canal, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Utah’s Great Salt Lake and Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeriah.

Al-Neyadi has also captured global phenomena from a bird’s-eye perspective, including a tropical storm formation over the Arabian Gulf, wildfires in Turkey and Greece and active volcanoes in the Philippines.

As well as his critical missions onboard ISS, al-Neyadi also shared images of his downtime on board the orbiting space station, including eating Emirati honey from space, practising jiujitsu, doing zero-gravity fitness routines, playing games with his crewmates, reading comics, doing Yoga and even celebrating his birthday in space in May with a cake.

Calls from beyond Earth

Al-Neyadi also spent time in space to engage with residents and students in his home country through multiple live calls as part of an outreach campaign called ‘A Call From Space’, delighting schoolchildren from all seven emirates about tales from space and the wonders of the universe. It allowed pupils to ask the Emirati astronaut questions about life onboard ISS, firing up the ambitions of a whole new generation of space enthusiasts.

Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi has sent Eid al-Fitr greetings from space – alongside his mascot for the nation's space mission, his colorful stuffed toy Suhail. (Twitter)

Carrying the lucky mascot

Never far from al-Neyadi was his mascot for the UAE space mission, his colorful, stuffed toy Suhail – the Arabic name for the star Canopus.

Saeed Al Emadi, from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, had developed the cartoon character to spark interest in space and STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) among the next generation. Al-Neyadi’s stuffed-toy version of the mascot has accompanied him on several videos and messages he shared onboard ISS.

Praise from UAE leaders

Al-Neyadi’s space mission has drawn praise from the leaders of the UAE. After the Emirati docked on ISS, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “I join the nation in congratulating Sultan al-Neyadi as he begins his pioneering mission aboard the International Space Station. His inspiring achievement is a source of great pride for the UAE and another milestone in the journey of our nation and the ambitions of our people.”

Just four days after landing on ISS, he partook in a call with the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum from space.

During the video call, Sheikh Mohammed congratulated al-Neyadi, saying: “I would like to let you know that the youth of the UAE and the Arab world are taking you as an example and wish you all the luck.”

After the call, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was quoted as saying: “During my conversation today with Sultan al-Neyadi, the first Arab astronaut on a six-month mission on the International Space Station, Sultan opened new doors for our youth, raised the ceiling for the aspirations of our generations and represented a bright part of our future.”

UAE’s space goals

United Arab Emirates' (UAE) astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi. (AFP)

Al-Neyadi’s mission is the latest space-related milestone for the UAE.

In its ongoing efforts to boost the economy and become a global space leader, the UAE has invested about $10 billion in the space sector as part of its 10-year plan.

A key milestone was the successful launch of the Hope spacecraft to Mars in 2020. The UAE officially became the first Arab country and the second country ever to successfully enter Martian orbit on its first attempt when its Hope probe reached the red planet in February 2021.

In addition to the 10 new spacecraft under development, the UAE owns more than 20 orbital satellites and is home to more than 80 international, emerging space companies, institutions and facilities, and five research centers for space sciences.

Its initiatives include the National Space Strategy 2030, aimed at improving the space sector’s contribution to the national economy, and the UAE Astronaut Program, which is developing a national team of astronauts for scientific and manned space exploration missions.

The UAE also unveiled plans in May to send a spaceship to explore the solar system’s main asteroid belt. Dubbed the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the project aims to develop a spacecraft in the coming years and then launch it in 2028 to study various asteroids.

New crew arrive at ISS

A new set of crew has landed on ISS to take over from al-Neyadi and his crewmates. Crew 7 – which includes astronauts from the US, Japan and Denmark – landed at the orbiting station on Sunday. Crew-7 will conduct new scientific research to benefit humanity on Earth and prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Experiments include the collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station, the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations and an investigation of the physiological aspects of astronauts’ sleep while on space missions.

Homecoming and thereafter

Upon his splashdown on Earth, al-Neyadi’s initial days will be dedicated to medical evaluations in the US, after which he will head back to the UAE.

Following this, he will journey back to the US for further mission debriefings.

Once he settles down in the UAE, he plans to engage in nationwide roadshows, sharing his invaluable experiences with the public.

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