Sultan Al Neyadi reads Tintin comic books on space station

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is spending his spare time on the International Space Station reading his favourite comic – The Adventures of Tintin.

Before Dr Al Neyadi, 43, blasted off to the ISS on March 3 for his six-month mission, he said he would be taking the comic books with him, as they are his favourite.

"One of the comics I read on the ISS is that of Tintin – a visionary series that was originally written in the 1950s that dreamt of space travel even before humanity took its first leap into orbit," he tweeted on Saturday.

Written in the 1950s, the cartoon series follows the adventures of a character named Tintin who goes on a voyage to the Moon, with spacesuits portrayed in the storyline similar to real ones used in future Moon exploration.

Tintin's space adventures were spread across a two-part series called Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon.

Two animated TV shows and one radio adaptation of Tintin have also been made, as well as 24 books and five feature films dedicated to his adventures.

Dr Al Neyadi posted an image of himself reading the comics, with miniature figurines of Tintin in a spacesuit and the rocket portrayed in the books floating in the background.

While Dr Neyadi gets some free time on the ISS, he has a busy schedule that involves maintenance work, scientific experiments, photography and outreach activities.

He carried out the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut in April, when he ventured outside the ISS into the darkness for a seven-hour maintenance assignment.

He has also been doing live video calls to engage with people in the UAE, in which he speaks to school pupils and university students.

Dr Al Neyadi is the second Emirati astronaut to go to space, following in the footsteps of Hazza Al Mansouri.

Maj Al Mansouri went on an eight-day mission to the ISS, helping pave the way for the country's astronaut programme, which now has four members.

Nora Al Matrooshi, the first Emirati female to be selected as AN astronaut, and Mohammed Al Mulla are the latest to join.

They are currently completing a Nasa astronaut training programme at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.

Once graduated, they will become eligible for US-led missions to space.

Dr Al Neyadi is expected to return to Earth next month.