The UAE is rolling out the red carpet to welcome back its space hero, Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, to his motherland today with an out-of-this-world celebration.
The entire country proudly salutes the 42-year-old who performed the longest Arab space mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the first-ever spacewalk by an Arab, etching his name in the history books twice.
Heroic return
The day of Sultan’s arrival back to Earth after six months wasn’t an ordinary day. The anxiousness of waiting for his safe landing kept us glued to the live coverage on the phones as we headed to the office that morning. I could see people in nearby cars watching the historic arrival. It was the feeling of a family member coming back after a long time, but not just from anywhere, from space, and not just an ordinary return, but a return that at least can be called heroic.
نستودعكم الله
إلى الإمارات الحبيبة ✈️🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/t1KlVA1qq0— Sultan AlNeyadi (@Astro_Alneyadi) September 18, 2023
As he was being carried out of the spacecraft, everyone around me was cheering and saying “Al Hamdulilah”, “Praise to God”. I felt so proud and lucky to be able to witness this moment live.
The trust that our leadership always places in its youth makes it a mission for all of us to achieve even more.
As the UAE celebrates the return of a hero, we get to witness a historic moment, one that’s here to last and one that is a beginning of more inspirations to come.
You made us proud, Sultan. Welcome home!
The nose of the government aircraft is inscribed with Al Ain, Dr Al Neyadi’s hometown.
The Adnoc headquarters, Mubadala Tower, Khalifa University and Marina Mall’s observation tower were illuminated with images of the explorer.
People can tune into a live-stream of his return to the UAE from 5.30pm at mbrsc.ae/live/ and on YouTube.
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