French astronaut shares picture of Abu Dhabi at night from space


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

A French astronaut has shared a picture of the twinkling lights of Abu Dhabi from space.

Thomas Pesquet, a European Space Agency astronaut who is on board the International Space Station, tweeted a dazzling snapshot of the capital taken from his trip into orbit.

The outline of the city and its suburbs can be seen from above, lit up and laid out in neat sections, complete with a mystery arrow near the bottom of the shot.

“Abu Dhabi at night is a very distinctive city,” he tweeted.

“The districts seem to have different layouts and different lighting and there are distinct shapes to be made out.”

It is not the first time Mr Pesquet has shared images of the UAE from above. In June he tweeted two pictures of The Palm, Jumeirah, taken from orbit.

On Tuesday, he took command of the space station from Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide.

Mr Pesquet will hold this role until shortly before Crew-2 return to Earth in November, the European Space Agency said.

An enormous projection of Mr Pesquet appeared on Al Wasl Dome last week when he spoke to Expo 2020 visitors live from the ISS as part of the fair’s celebration of France.

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Omar Yabroudi's factfile

Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager

 

 

 

 

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Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist

Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi

Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup

Hobbies: Reading and drawing

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Updated: October 06, 2021, 6:58 AM