Emirati Saleh Al Ameri has been selected to spend eight months in almost complete isolation living in a Mars mission simulator.
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre confirmed that the 31 year old had been chosen to take part in the experiment, which starts on Thursday after being shortlisted for the project with fellow Emirati Abdullah Al Hammadi.
Mr Al Ameri will be part of a six-strong team taking part in the study at Moscow’s NEK centre, with Mr Al Hammadi serving as backup.
The project, called Sirius 20/21, will measure the physiological and psychological toll that extreme environments, such as space, have on human beings.
The crew will carry out more than 60 experiments during the mission.
"I think the thing we will miss the most will be our family and friends, but we will try to stay in touch with them in our free time,” Mr Al Ameri said last month.
The project will help scientists learn more about human physiology and psychology during isolation. The research is vital as nations work towards sending astronauts to the Moon and to Mars.
Many nations have put scientists and astronauts through isolation tests in preparation for space travel.
A European Space Agency flight crew experienced 18 months of isolation in a sealed device in a Moscow suburb between 2007 and 2011.
The crew was exposed to stress tests, including a complete communications blackout.
In 2017, Nasa placed six astronauts in a dome in Hawaii which simulated the conditions of life on Mars.
They were given supplies, including canned tuna and powdered cheese, and wore sensors to measure voice levels and their proximity to others.
This enabled researchers to collate data on whether the astronauts were arguing or avoiding each other.
The UAE’s involvement with the Sirius mission will play an integral role in gathering data for the country’s plans to build a colony on Mars by 2117.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Founder: Hussam Hammo
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Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
