Emirati ‘Sultan of Space’ becomes first Arab to walk in space
Sultan Al Neyadi undertook 'the first Arab spacewalk in history' wearing a space suit that bears the Emirati flag
Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi stepped out of the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday for the first space walk by an Arab astronaut, a moment touted by the United Arab Emirates as a "milestone.”
Al Neyadi, dubbed the “Sultan of Space” by his alma mater, became the first Arab astronaut to embark on a six-month space mission when he blasted off for the ISS last month aboard a SpaceX rocket. The 41-year-old undertook “the first Arab spacewalk in history” wearing a space suit that bears the Emirati flag, said the UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), calling it "a new historic milestone.”
Footage live-streamed by NASA showed Al Neyadi exiting an ISS hatch. "Sultan Alneyadi has egressed the hatch, the first ever space walk by an Arab astronaut," NASA said.
The spacewalk will last for around six hours and thirty minutes, according to MBRSC and NASA.
Alongside NASA's Stephen Bowen, Al Neyadi will "change the Radio Frequency Group unit and prepare for the installation of solar panels," the Emirati astronaut said on Twitter.
Al Neyadi is the second man from the Gulf state to go to space, after Hazzaa al-Mansoori's eight-day mission in 2019. He is the first Arab to embark on a long-duration space mission.
The UAE is a newcomer to the world of space exploration but is quickly making its mark. It sent an unmanned spacecraft to Mars in 2021 – the Arab world's first interplanetary mission – and last year a rover to the Moon.