UAE Astronaut Programme

The UAE Astronaut Programme is the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre's continuing effort to select, train and prepare Emirati astronauts for scientific space missions. Initiated in April 2017, it builds a national astronaut corps through successive cohorts, international training partnerships and missions involving scientific experiments and public engagement. Hazzaa AlMansoori and Sultan AlNeyadi formed the first cohort, selected in 2018. AlMansoori flew to the International Space Station in September 2019 on the Zayed Ambition 1 mission; AlNeyadi's Zayed Ambition 2 mission began in March 2023 and included a six-month station expedition and a spacewalk. Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla were selected for the second cohort in 2021 and graduated from NASA's Astronaut Candidate Class in 2024. Their training at Johnson Space Center covered station systems, spacewalking, robotics, aviation and other skills needed for future assignments.