Photos: Emirati astronauts train for upcoming mission

The country's first two Emirati astronauts had been revealed in a historic announcement made by the leaders of the UAE.

The first Emirati astronauts have started training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia.
According to a tweet on the Dubai Media Office official account, the two astronauts, Sultan Al Neyadi and Hazza Al Mansouri, are preparing for a historic mission that will take one of them to the International Space Station on April 5, 2019 on board the Soyuz MS-12. 

The first Emirati astronauts Sultan Al Neyadi & Hazza Al Mansouri train at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre as they prepare for a historic mission that will take one of them to the International Space Station on 5 April 2019 on board the Soyuz MS-12. @MBRSpaceCentre pic.twitter.com/VkCpIvUeJ7
- Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) October 8, 2018

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has also expressed immense pride in the accomplishments of the two astronauts and in the fact that UAE's space dreams are set to be a reality soon and that he is looking forward to seeing the first Emirati astronauts onboard the International Space Station.

The countdown has begun and UAE's space dreams are set to be a reality soon. I'm so proud of Sultan Al Niyadi and Hazza Al Mansouri; our nation is looking forward to seeing the first Emirati astronauts onboard the International Space Station on 5th of April 2019. @MBRSpaceCentre pic.twitter.com/eGGZdmEPQq
- Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 8, 2018

The country's first two Emirati astronauts had been revealed in a historic announcement made by the leaders of the UAE.
Hazza Al Mansouri, 34, and Sultan Al Neyadi, 37, had been selected as the first two astronauts from among over 4,000 who applied for the UAE Astronaut Programme. They both hail from Abu Dhabi. Only one of them will blast off into space in April 2019, while the other will be a backup.
The selected astronaut's first mission was revealed in June and will take him on a 10-day mission to the ISS onboard the Russian spacecraft, Soyuz MS-12. The search for the UAE's first astronauts began in December 2017, when the UAE Astronaut Programme was announced. Less than one year later, the first two had been chosen.
Space agencies from various countries are teaming up with the UAE to help train the country's first Emirati astronaut and allow him to use their facilities at International Space Station (ISS). The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 69th annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) by a delegation of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and UAE Space Agency.
The MBRSC also presented its various space projects at the recently concluded IAC and the centre's preparations to host the congress in Dubai in 2020.

• UAE