Meet the UAE's first astronauts

Meet the UAE's first astronauts

  DUBAI - Two Emirati men will undergo space training in Russia to make history in becoming the first Emirati astronauts. Who are the duo? Sultan Saif Al Neyadi, a doctor of information technology, and Hazza Al Mansouri, a military pilot. Al Mansouri, 34, is a veteran fighter pilot who flies the UAE military's F-16s jets. Al Neyadi, 37, is a top IT expert in data safekeeping. They will train at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow before one is chosen to blast off in a Soyuz rocket next April on a mission to the International Space Station. During their training, the duo will be exposed to high gravitational speeds that will mimic the journey to space. They will also undergo hours of diving exercises to train them to work in zero gravity. Fighter pilot Al Mansouri is used to flying at high speeds with the UAE air force's F-16 Block 60, one of the most advance aircraft in the skies. The aviation graduate of Khalifa bin Zayed Aviation College has more than 14 years of experience in military aviation. Al Seyadi, a PhD holder in information technology, has worked for the UAE military for many years. He specialises in data leak prevention from the Griffith University in Queensland. GAD/Expat 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