The UAE Astronaut Program prepares Emirati astronauts for manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and other destinations in space. The first of its kind in the Arab world, the program provides the necessary training, expertise and qualification for Emirati cadres to represent the UAE, and the Arab world, in future space missions and to conduct scientific experiments that support the global space exploration process. There are currently fours astronauts under this program – HE Dr. Sultan Saif AlNeyadi, Hazzaa AlMansoori, Mohammad AlMulla, and Nora AlMatrooshi.
After having trained at the Johnson Space Center in Houston alongside NASA astronauts, Astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori boarded the Soyuz MS-15 in 2019, bound for the International Space Station (ISS). He became the UAE's first astronaut to travel into space, marking a historic moment for the UAE's space ambitions.
The UAE’s second astronaut from the first batch of the UAE Astronaut Program, HE Dr. Sultan Saif AlNeyadi, received training alongside NASA astronauts at facilities across the US, including NASA’s Johnson Space Center and SpaceX HQ.
He departed for the ISS as part of the NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission in March 2023, returning to Earth in September 2023, marking the first-ever long-duration mission by an Arab astronaut. During his time aboard the ISS, he also performed the first-ever spacewalk by an Arab astronaut.
With his ISS mission and a two-year astronaut training program under his belt, AlNeyadi is qualified to go on additional NASA-led missions.
In space, HE Dr. Sultan completed over 200 science experiments, with the results benefiting NASA, UAE academic institutions and the entire space science community. In January 2024, HE Dr. Sultan Said AlNeyadi was appointed as the UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
Emirati astronauts from the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Program, Mohammad AlMulla and Nora AlMatrooshi, are finishing their training alongside aspiring American astronauts. Chosen from over 4,000 applicants, Nora AlMatrooshi is the Arab world's first female astronaut. Selected in the 2021 class of astronaut candidates, both graduated from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in March 2024 as flight-eligible astronauts.
Call from Space: US Edition
In August 2023, the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and NASA, hosted a ‘Call from Space: US Edition.’
The event included a panel discussion emceed by American comedian Steve Harvey, which focused on UAE-US cooperation in space. HE Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director General of MBRSC; Karen Feldstein, Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations at NASA; and Hazzaa AlMansoori, the UAE’s first astronaut, each remarked on the importance of bilateral collaboration to advance scientific discovery.
The gathering featured a live video call and Q&A with UAE astronaut HE Dr. Sultan Saif AlNeyadi and NASA astronaut Warren ‘Woody’ Hoburg who were aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission.
This was the final installment of the MBRSC’s popular ‘Call from Space’ series which engaged diverse audiences across the UAE over the course of astronaut HE Dr. Sultan Saif AlNeyadi’s six-month-long ISS mission.
