On Monday, Libya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Al-Mangoush hailed the United Arab Emirates’ “impressive achievements in its space programme,” following Emirati astronaut, Sultan Al Neyadi’s successful spacewalk.
In a tweet, Al-Mangoush wrote, “the UAE continues to achieve meaningful achievements in space, through its participation in the activities of the International Space Station, as Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has become the first ever Arab person to walk in space.”
“I extend my best wishes to him and his fellow Emiratis and Arabs, and that their success stories be an inspiration to all Arab youth,” the minister added.
The UAE’s Hope probe recently unveiled a series of unique and ground-breaking observations of Mars’ smaller moon, Deimos. This was quickly followed by a historic spacewalk outside the International Space Station by Sultan Al Neyadi.
UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan lauded the historic achievement.
A congratulatory message on the spacewalk was also posted by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai.
“After three years of intensive training, today we saw Sultan Al Neyadi on the first mission to walk in outer space, carrying out missions to install new parts and carry out maintenance on the International Space Station, the first Emirati, the first Arab, the first Muslim, to walk in outer space…proud of that,” he wrote.
The spacewalk, carried out by Al Neyadi and a fellow astronaut from NASA, aimed to upgrade the station’s solar array systems, which will increase the power generation capability of the ISS.
Al Neyadi’s accomplishment adds to the UAE’s growing list of milestones in the space sector.
The Hope probe, which entered Mars’ orbit in February 2021, has been instrumental in collecting valuable data about the Martian atmosphere.
