The UAE’s first two astronauts are being primed for future space missions as they continue training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre.
Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati to fly to space, and reserve astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi have so far learnt how to perform spacewalks, run the systems on the International Space Station and how to operate its robotic arm since joining up with the agency in October, 2020.
Their training at Nasa facilities was made possible because of a Reimbursable Space Act agreement signed between the US space agency and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre that year.
Training typically lasts for two years, but under the agreement, they will also be readied for long-duration missions, which means their time in Houston could be extended.
“When astronauts are assigned to long-duration expedition missions aboard station, they then receive additional training specifically for their missions and spacecraft,” Nasa said when the agreement was signed in 2020.
“The training via this agreement will prepare the UAE astronauts for future long-duration station missions, but such missions are beyond the scope of this agreement.”
Opportunities open up for space travel
The UAE has not announced any firm plans to send its next astronaut to space, but the space centre is in active discussions with partners to secure a seat on a rocket.
Maj Al Mansouri, a former jet fighter pilot, flew to the ISS on a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2019 for an eight-day stay. The Russian craft was the only one capable of launching human beings into space at the time.
Now, astronauts are also launching from Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.
This means the UAE now has several options, including a government partnership with Nasa to fly an Emirati astronaut on a SpaceX rocket.
The UAE could also buy launch services from SpaceX as a private customer, or it could collaborate with Russia again.
Astronauts boost expertise on Canada trip
Recently, Maj Al Mansouri and Dr Al Neyadi completed a week-long training stint in Canada, where they learnt how to operate CanadArm2, the robotic arm on the space station.
“One step closer to the next mission,” Maj Al Mansouri tweeted last week.
“We completed recently our training on the robotic arm (CanadArm2), which performs station maintenance, moves supplies, equipment, and even astronauts and grappling visiting vehicles and berthing them to the ISS.”
Dr Al Neyadi tweeted: "A big thank you to the amazing robotics training team at the Canadian Space Agency. During an eight-day training course, I extensively worked on using the robotic manipulator ‘Canada Arm’ to perform various EVA (extravehicular activity) tasks, capture cargo vehicles and handle payloads.”
The two astronauts also completed spacewalk training, which involved spending hours submerged in the world’s largest indoor swimming pool.
Called the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, it is 12 metres deep and holds 2.4 million litres of water.
A mock-up of the ISS is built beneath the pool, where astronauts spend more than six hours each time while wearing 115-kilogram extravehicular activity suits.
New recruits get to work
The country’s two new trainee astronauts, Mohammed Al Mulla, a former Dubai Police helicopter pilot and Nora Al Matrooshi, a mechanical engineer, started their training at Nasa in January.
So far, they have completed survival training at the US Army Aviation Centre of Excellence in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
They learnt how to build fires, make shelters and gather food and water, alongside their Nasa colleagues.
They are currently receiving flight training on the T-6 aircraft with the US Navy in Pensacola, Florida.
This will help them to prepare for the next phase of the training, which is flying the T-38 aircraft, a supersonic trainer that can travel faster than the speed of sound.
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
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Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
