São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates will send its first astronaut to space in April of next year, according to a news feature published this Wednesday (20) by local media. The Arab country’s government has signed an agreement with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, for the spacecraft Soyuz to take an Emirati to the International Space Station (ISS).
According to information released by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (picture above, during a visit by authorities), the mission will last ten days, and the rocket will have a Russian commander and an American flight engineer. The astronaut’s identity is yet to be revealed and the training begins in July.
The Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who’s also the ruler of Dubai, called the agreement an historical one, according to the website of The National. “Our vision to develop the national space sector, which began 12 years ago, is beginning to bear fruits,” wrote the Sheik on Twitter.
The agreement was signed this week, while the United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE) is being held in Vienna, Austria.
Last year, the UAE had announced a program for the formation of a team of astronauts. Over four thousand people had registered and a list of finalists with 95 people was released earlier this month. The announcement stated that four of them would be trained for a space mission.
The UAE also launched other initiatives in the space sector, such as the building of the first satellite by local engineers, the KhalifaSat, which should be sent into orbit this year. There are also plans to send a UAE mission to Mars in 2021, in the UAE’s 50th birthday.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
