Sultan Al Neyadi.

Yamama Bedwan, Staff Reporter

The Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will arrive in the country on Monday evening after a successful space mission that is considered the longest in Arab history.

Through that mission, Al Neyadi made qualitative and historical achievements, which cemented position the UAE regionally and globally as the first Arab country to complete the longest mission on the International Space Station.

The mission that lasted 186 days witnessed conducting pioneering scientific experiments aiming to serving humanity and the scientific community.

Al Neyadi returned to Earth on Sept. 4 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor with his fellow of “Crew 6”. It landed off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, after a journey that took 17 hours and 17 minutes from the moment the spacecraft separated from the station.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, on Sunday, announced on X platform that the live coverage of Al Neyadi's return to the homeland wound begin on Monday at 5-30 pm via http://mbrsc.ae/live/

“I'm really happy with the achievement that we've done. It's only the beginning and hopefully we will continue this journey with other people from the UAE and the region as well. I'm really grateful. Thank you for all the support and the prayers from everybody.

“I would like to say thank you to my family, friends and people in the UAE and the region. Thank you to Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center. Thank you NASA and the international partners for making this possible.”

At the ISS, Al Neyadi was involved in over 200 experiments, partnering with international space agencies and esteemed UAE and global universities. His contributions span diverse fields, including plant genetics, human life sciences, exploration technology, fluid dynamics, material science, protein crystallisation growth, and advanced exploration technologies.