Watch: Do y’all get ‘Family Feud’ up there? Steve Harvey asks UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi and crew

American TV host Steve Harvey, who is popularly known as the host of game show Family Feud, interviewed Sultan AlNeyadi from the International Space Station, and he had one “basic question: Do y’all get ‘family feud’ up there?”

A short video clip was posted by Harvey on his Instagram story and that quip, of course, gave the audience of ‘A Call from Space’ a good laugh.

Held on Wednesday at George Washington University, the interaction – which Harvey made light and informal – was hosted by the UAE Embassy in Washington. It was the final installment of the ‘Call from Space’ series organised by Dubai-based Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) aimed at engaging diverse audiences over the course of Al Neyadi’s ongoing mission aboard the orbital laboratory.

AlNeyadi, who has been living at the ISS for almost six months, was joined by his colleague Nasa astronaut Woody Hoburg.

Harvey, who was joined in the panel by the UAE ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba, told the duo that it was the first time for him to interview astronauts in space and, taking a more serious note, congratulated them, adding: “What you've accomplished is absolutely incredible.”

Realising childhood dream

Harvey asked AlNeyadi whether it was his childhood dream to go to space and AlNeyadi earnestly answered how when he was a kid growing up in Al Ain, he looked up in the sky and saw “really nice stars”.

“So, I started wondering – do we have the ability to visit other stars and planets?,” said AlNeyadi, underlining that it ignited his passion for space exploration. He then talked about his training and daily routine aboard the ISS.

AlNeyadi, who is scheduled to return to Earth on September 1 after completing the first long-duration Arab space mission, also accomplished the first spacewalk for the Arab world outside the ISS on April 28 this year. He has likewise conducted several experiments and scientific studies on how microgravity affects the human body, in collaboration with UAE universities and international space agencies.

‘We are family’

Going back to the ‘Family feud’ question (a reference to Harvey’s popular game show), AlNeyadi gave a more detailed answer when he also replied to a formal query by Ambassador Al Otaiba.

AlNeyadi talked about training together for so many years with his fellow astronauts that they’ve “become just like brothers and sisters”. He also shared how the ISS crew who come from different countries collaborate together to achieve one goal for the advancement of science and humanity.

He added: “We came from different perspectives (but) I can't think of a better place where people can live in peace and harmony than here in the ISS… Here, I always say we live as a family … a space family.”

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