Sheikh Mohammed praises Sultan Al Neyadi, says Arabs are capable of anything

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said Arabs are creative if we decide to focus on science and stay away from differences.

Sheikh Mohammed said, “After 3 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. They say that two-thirds of the stars in the sky bear Arabic names... Arabs are capable... Arabs are coming... Arabs are creative if we decide to focus on science... and invest in youth... and stay away from differences.”

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, said, “The UAE's space program has achieved a new historic milestone with Sultan Al Neyadi becoming the first Arab to perform a spacewalk. We extend our congratulations to the UAE's leadership, its people, and the entire region for this remarkable accomplishment. We take great pride in this achievement and celebrate this momentous occasion. We also wish @astro_alneyadi a safe and successful mission.”

Al Neyadi, 41, dubbed the "Sultan of Space" by his alma mater, become the first Arab astronaut to embark on a six-month space mission when he blasted off for the ISS in early March aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

On Friday, he undertook "the first Arab spacewalk in history," wearing a space suit that bears the Emirati flag, said the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), calling it "a new historic milestone".

Footage live-streamed by Nasa showed the UAE astronaut exiting an ISS hatch.

"Sultan Al Neyadi has egressed the hatch, the first ever space walk by an Arab astronaut," NASA said.

The space walk will last for around six hours and thirty minutes, according to MBRSC and NASA.

Alongside Nasa's Stephen Bowen, Al Neyadi "changed the Radio Frequency Group unit and prepare for the installation of solar panels," the Emirati astronaut said in a Twitter post carried by the official WAM news agency.