ESA to train Emirati astronauts
European Space Agency will also offer technical support to Operations Support Centre in UAE
The two Emirati astronautsin-training will undergo special training with the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of them will be chosen to fly to the International Space Station on April 5 for 11 days.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the European Space Agency at the International Astronautical Congress 2018 being held this week in Bremen, Germany.
The two Emirati astronauts, Hazza Ali Abdan Khalfan Al Mansouri and Sultan Saif Muftah Hamad Al Neyadi, are undergoing intensive training in the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia.
Salem Humaid Al Merri, assistant director-general for scientific and technical affairs and head of MBRSC’s UAE Astronaut Programme, and David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, signed the agreement in the presence of Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani, director-general of MBRSC.
Through this agreement, ESA will offer technical support to Operations Support Centre (UAE OSC) by providing it with technologies to communicate with astronauts directly from Dubai, and communicating with the specialised team from MBRSC. At a later stage, UAEOSC will be integrated into the ISS Operations Network.
Al Merri said the agreement will “enhance bilateral cooperation in space science and share best practices as well as discuss future opportunities for training Emirati astronauts”.