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An emirati astronaut who will make history by becoming the first Arab on the International Space Station said Tuesday he received support from around the world before his mission of "dream".
Hazzaa al-Mansoori, 35, is expected to explode in space accompanied by Russian Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, a Jewish-American-Swedish whose father is Israeli, on board the ship. a Soyuz rocket Wednesday in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
Mansoori, who will spend eight days on the ISS, will be the first Emirati astronaut and the first Arab lab in orbit, but not the first Muslim.
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Members of the main crew of the International Space Station (ISS), United Arab Emirates astronaut Hazzaa al-Mansoori and US astronaut Jessica Meir, speak during a meeting press conference in the Baikonur cosmodrome rented by Russia to Kazakhstan on September 24, 2019. (Combined photos of Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP)
"It's truly an honor and we look forward to making this mission a success and returning with a lot of knowledge," said the pilot at a preparatory press conference.
International Space Station (photo credit courtesy of NASA)
He said this trip was an important step for his country and the Arab world.
"This success will be in the story and it will be continued," he said. "The dream has come true."
Mansoori said that he would record his prayer routine on the ISS and broadcast it to the inhabitants of the Earth.
"As a fighter pilot, I had already prayed on my plane," he said, explaining that he had already experienced high speed prayers.
Mansoori also plans to conduct experiments and said that he would take with him Emirati food to share it with the crew.
Skripochka, Meir and Mansoori, who are participating in the program for the first time, will join a crew of six on board the ISS. For a brief period, the ISS will welcome nine astronauts.
The Soyuz FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is mounted on the launch pad of the Baikonur cosmodrome leased by Russia to Kazakhstan on 23 September 2019. (MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP)
Meir, 42, said that having a man in space was "an achievement" for the UAE, as his program is so new.
She said the crew had communicated using "Runglish", a mixture of Russian and English.
"We still have to work our Arabic," she joked.
Mansoori will return to Earth with NASA's Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin on Oct. 3. Skripochka and Meir are expected to remain on the ISS until the spring of 2020.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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