Emiratis, expats express pride in Hazzaa's mission.

UAE residents - both Emiratis and expats - have expressed pride in Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori's mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Hazzaa carried out the historic mission onboard the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft and headed to space with Russian commander Oleg Skripochka and Nasa astronaut Jessica Meir. The launch took place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Reserve Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi was also at Baikonur with Russian commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Thomas Marshburn from Nasa. At 5.57pm local time on Wednesday, the FG rocket took off from Baikonur, powering the Soyuz spacecraft that carried a three-member crew, including Al Mansoori.

We are proud of Hazzaa Al Mansoori, the first Emirati to be in space and the first Arab astronaut to go to the International Space Station (ISS). This great achievement will inspire more Emirati young people to participate in space exploration missions and contribute to the UAE's competitiveness in the space industry. I congratulate the Mohammed bin Rashid Space...