It takes 6 months and takes place in a Dragon

Al Neyadi and crew-6 crew to the International Space Station tomorrow for a long-term journey

  • During the final preparations of Sultan Al Neyadi before the start of the mission. From the source

  • Al Neyadi wished to live up to his family's trust in the UAE. From the source

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Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and the crew of the Crew-6 space mission have concluded their preparations for a long-term mission to the International Space Station, which will take six months, as the mission crew will launch tomorrow at 10:45 am, UAE time, aboard SpaceX's Dragon vehicle.

Al-Neyadi posted a video of him with his family and friends in Florida, and commented on it: "With family and friends during their visit to me in Florida before the start of the mission. Without your support, I would not have arrived here, and God willing, I will live up to your trust and that of my great family, the UAE."

"Following the success of the UAE's first mission into space in 2019, when my colleague Hazza Al Mansoori launched to the International Space Station, we felt excited and proud in the UAE and the region. This six-month mission will contribute to the development of our space program, and we hope to successfully implement it, in cooperation with the mission crew, and return to achieving all the goals that were previously planned."

"I thank our leadership and all those who support us in preparing for this mission, including trainers, space agencies, and especially my family and colleagues. We are physically, mentally and technically ready to take on this mission where we want to introduce new knowledge and foster a passion for space exploration."

The Crew-6 mission is the first long-term mission for Arab astronauts and the second Emirati mission to the International Space Station, and was launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre as part of the UAE Astronaut Program.

In addition to Sultan Al Neyadi, the mission crew includes astronaut Stephen Bowen (NASA), astronaut Warren Hoberg (NASA) and cosmonaut mission specialist Andrey Vidyev (Roscosmos), while the mission's backup crew includes Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansoori, spacecraft pilot Yasmine Magbaili (NASA), ESA pilot Andreas Mogensen and ESA's Konstantin Borisov.

The mission is part of Expedition 68/69, with Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Schep, Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara joining the team. The International Space Station Expedition is the crew that operates the space station and uses it for research and selection.

During the mission, Al Neyadi will conduct a series of experiments and advanced research in order to reach important scientific results about outer space, in addition to participating in an educational program, and the expected results of this mission will contribute to the benefit of the scientific community and the space sector globally, and will make the UAE the first partner from outside the International Space Station and the 11th country in the world to send astronauts on long-term missions to the International Space Station, and work to train and prepare them for spacewalks.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre explained that the mission aims to consolidate the UAE's position as a global partner in manned space missions, enhance cooperation between countries and entities to achieve common goals of scientific discoveries, obtain a sustainable future for humanity, support the UAE's vision to build an economy based on knowledge and scientific research, and pave the way for future initiatives that contribute to strengthening the UAE's leading position in the space exploration sector, as well as contributing to global space exploration missions through the development and preparation of a team of astronauts. Emiratis, encouraging a culture of scientific research, discovery and innovation.

The Crew Dragon Endeavour is manufactured by SpaceX and used by NASA's Commercial Energy Program, where since 2022 it has completed three successful missions to the International Space Station, and is scheduled to launch tomorrow on its fourth mission with the crew-6 crew.

The Crew Dragon Endeavor broke the record for the longest space mission by the crew of an American vehicle, which was registered as the Rezelance vehicle on May 2021, 280, as Endeavor succeeded in spending <> days in space, becoming the record holder for spending the longest possible time away from Earth's gravity.

The mission will conduct 20 scientific experiments in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales in France and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and will cover a wide range of areas, including the cardiovascular system, epigenetics, botany, radiation study, back pain, immune system, materials science, testing and experimenting with technologies, fluid science and sleep study.

The "Cardiovascular System" trial aims to provide the scientific study of the cardiovascular system in the mission as a platform to explore potential mechanisms and help develop interventions to slow vascular aging, improve health and quality of life, while the "Back Pain" trial aims not only to report preventive measures to reduce the risk of herniated discs in astronauts, but also to provide insights into spinal stability related to improving back health in the general public. and advanced development on board future space platforms, addressing gaps in hardware product development, advanced manufacturing and technology deployment.

The study of "epigenetics" seeks to contribute to the basic understanding of genetic phenomena, with applications in the development of precautionary measures for biomedical conditions and the generation of integrated strategies for personalized medicine, while the study of "Immune System" provides studies on how space missions affect the immune system, while the study of "fluid science" allows research on this topic in space, helping to understand fluids in a zero-gravity environment.

The study of botany contributes to the application of new information gained from research on board the International Space Station to provide astronauts with food during their space missions. Materials science helps improve our understanding of material processing and properties. The study of sleep helps analyze sleep aboard the International Space Station, and finally the study of radiation that helps develop and enhance capabilities to predict exposure to space radiation for future exploration missions.

• The mission conducts 20 scientific experiments on the fields of cardiovascular, back pain, "radiation" and "plants."

• Al-Neyadi during his meeting with his family and friends before his trip: Without your support, I would not have arrived here.

Two research papers for Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre has selected two research projects from Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, within the framework of educational awareness of Sultan Al Neyadi's mission, in order to inspire the next generation of scientists and researchers, where the first project focuses on assessing the impact of the microgravity environment in space on the interaction between the heart and body position, and the second project works on studying the cells of the mouth and teeth on Earth in an environment that simulates microgravity, and a number of students and researchers participate in both projects, to ensure the development of capabilities, And the qualification of a new generation of scientists.