Over 1,000 Emiratis sign up to become UAE's first astronauts
UAE's Astronaut Programme will eventually see four Emiratis board the International Space Station
More than 1,000 young Emiratis have already registered to the UAE's Astronaut Programme which was launched last week by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Under the programme, four carefully selected Emirati candidates will be chosen next year to form the UAE Astronaut team and undergo a three-year long intensive training programme to enable them to board the International Space Station (ISS).
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) revealed that it has received more than 1,000 applications.
Finalists will go through training in theory and science, as well as specialty qualification courses, over several months.
Hamad Obaid Al Mansouri, chairman of the MBRSC, said: "The UAE Astronaut Programme is a boundless ambition that showcases the UAE’s ongoing investment in science programmes to help serve national interests in the future, actively participating in global space exploration, and exploring the prospects of human life in space, including the possibility of inhabiting other planets.”
The selection of applicants to the UAE Astronaut Programme begins once the candidate submits his or her application which are then carefully screened and assessed based on the qualifications of the applicants.
Salem Humaid Al Marri, program manager of UAE Astronaut Programme said: "Our mission in space hasn’t even started, it is the start of endless journey. The first astronaut programme is the latest in a series of space projects announced and will be announced by the nation to ensure that the promise of space will be realised for the benefit of generations to come."
As part of the programme, the astronauts will also travel to various training centres around the world providing simulation systems in the field of space training, to enable them to acquire the best skills in this area.
Young Emirati men and women who like to enroll for the UAE Astronaut Programme should register through the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre website: www.mbrsc.ae/astronauts
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