InternationalFriday FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2019

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DZHEZKAZGAN: Russian Space Agency rescue team members and United Arab Emirates specialists carry United Arab Emirates astronaut Hazzaa Al-Mansoori shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-12 space capsule about 150 km south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan yesterday. — AFP First Arab on ISS returns to Earth

UAE - a newcomer to the world of space

ALMATY: A three-man crew including an eight days in total-it has been the source of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest sky- saw him sport a blindfold. Emirati who became the first Arab to reach great pride in the UAE, a newcomer to the scraper, was lit up at the moment of the In a question-and-answer session with the International Space Station returned to world of space with ambitions to send an un- launch. The 35-year-old former military pilot’s Emirati schoolchildren, the father of four Earth safely yesterday and were in good manned probe to orbit Mars by 2021. Man- whirlwind mission has had wall-to-wall cov- said a call to his mother would be his top shape, the Russian space agency Roscosmos soori has been active on Twitter where he erage in Arab media. priority when he landed back on Earth after said. Hazzaa Al-Mansoori of the United Arab shared photos of the UAE and Mecca-Islam’s a journey lasting just over three hours. The Emirates touched down in the Kazakh holiest site-from the space station. Yesterday, UAE sets sights on Mars return from space of Ovchinin and Hague steppes at 1059 GMT along with NASA as- he posted a view of space taken from the or- The first Arab in outer space was Saudi came a year after their rocket failed to tronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmo- biting station’s Cupola panoramic observatory Arabia’s Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, who launch in the first accident of its kind in Rus- naut Alexey Ovchinin, who both survived a module and paid tribute to UAE founding fa- flew on a US shuttle mission in 1985. Two sia’s post-Soviet history. failed launch to the ISS last year. ther Sheikh Zayed. years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed The two men took off in a Soyuz rocket “The crew that returned to Earth is feeling “With fear and pride, I am returning with Faris spent a week aboard the Soviet Union’s for the ISS in October 2018, but an accident well,” Roscosmos said immediately after the Zayed’s ambition achieved. We are not done Mir space station. As part of its space plans, minutes after blast-off sent them plunging landing. Hague and Ovchinin completed a yet, and we will never be. To bring back the the UAE has also announced its aim to be- back to Earth. The pair launched again-this 203-day mission aboard the lab while Man- golden era of Arab astronauts,” he wrote. come the first Arab country to send an un- time without hiccups-to begin Ovchinin’s soori’s two crewmates from his September 25 Mansoori’s blast-off from the launchpad that manned probe to orbit Mars by 2021, naming second and Hague’s first mission aboard the launch-Russia’s Oleg Skripochka and NASA’s sent Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into it “Hope”. While on board, Mansoori donned ISS in February. The ISS-a rare example of Jessica Meir-are staying on as part of a six- space was roared on by a large crowd at the Emirati dress, treated crew members to local cooperation between Russia and the West- member team. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in snacks and participated in scientific experi- has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 Although Mansoori’s mission was short - Dubai, where he has been feted as a hero. ments including a time-perception study that kilometers an hour since 1998. —AFP