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Video: UAE astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori gives International Space Station tour

Dubai - Hazzaa conducted 16 experiments during his eight-day stay at the ISS.

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A video in which Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori gives the world a tour of the International Space Station (ISS) in Arabic has been released by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

The first filmed tour of the ISS shows Hazzaa floating about the space lab as he explains its different segments, units, components, equipment and tools.

AlMansoori showcased during the tour a detailed explanation of the Russian segment on board the ISS. He explained that it has the main computer to control the station and handle different technical issues. It also harbors exercising equipment used for a daily two-hour workout by the astronauts, and a place for sleep.

A picture of Yuri Gagarin, the world's first astronaut, appeared in the video at the Russian section of the ISS, along with Sergei Korolev, a leading Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer, regarded as the father of practical astronautics. The video also showed flags of countries who participated in experiments with Russia, including the UAE flag. The video showed the entrance from the Soyuz spacecraft.

AlMansoori demonstrated the first part that built up the Russian segment at the ISS. It is used for storage, shower, and has other specific tools for astronauts. The video highlighted the Russian lab where all of AlMansoori's experiments took place during his eight-day mission to the ISS.

During the filmed tour inside different segments and units of the ISS, AlMansoori showed astronauts spacesuits at the airlock, referring to them as mini-spacecrafts. He explained how these spacesuits help astronauts perform space walks outside ISS for hours for maintenance purposes which can be mounting some devices or changing batteries. He mentioned that after astronauts don the spacesuit, they make sure that its pressure is balanced before heading out of the ISS.

The ISS was jointly established in 1998 by the US and Russia with funds from Canada, Japan, and 10 European countries. The station started receiving astronauts two years later, in November 2000. The ISS hosts an international staff of six astronauts, conducting scientific studies across various sectors of space science, physics and biology, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields for 35 hours a week.

AlMansoori conducted 16 scientific experiments in cooperation with international space agencies. Six of these experiments were conducted in microgravity to study the reaction of vital indicators of the human body aboard the ISS, brain DTI, osteology, motor control, time perception in microgravity, Fluidics (fluid dynamics in space), and DNAm-Age. AlMansoori was the first astronaut from the Arab region to participate in such research.

The mission is part of the UAE Astronaut Programme, which is overseen by the MBRSC. The UAE Astronaut Programme is the first integrated programme in the Arab region to prepare national cadres to participate in human space flights and carry out various scientific missions, in addition to becoming a part of the research carried out by the global scientific community to devise solutions to many challenges facing humanity.

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