The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced the first Emirati analog astronauts that will be a part of the UAE Analog Mission #1.
The Emirati astronauts are Abdallah Al Hammadi and Saleh Al Ameri.
Abdallah Al Hammadi has a foundation degree in aerospace engineering from Manchester Metropolitan University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Abu Dhabi University.
He has been part of the UAE Armed Forces for 17 years and is the Crew Chief of the Maintenance Department.
Saleh Al Ameri has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Khalifa University and is a certified vibration analyst from the Mobius Institute and is working as a mechanical engineer with ADNOC.
His team also won second place in the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge 2015, by designing the first of its kind solar car in the Arab world that had a mileage of 1,200km.
The mission is a part of the Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS) SIRIUS 20/21, which is an 8-month analog mission that will be conducted at the NEK ground-based analogue facility in Moscow, Russia later this year.
The candidates will be part of the mission’s CrewONE team and will study the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology and team dynamics to help prepare for long-duration space exploration.
The analog astronauts are currently undergoing in-house training, which includes training on the experiments proposed by principal investigators from local universities and Russian language training in preparation for the SIRIUS 20/21 mission.
Adnan Al Rais, Mars 2117 Programme Manager at MBRSC said, "The analog mission is a critically important programme that is essential to keep astronauts safe and healthy during long-duration spaceflights. Through our participation, we will be able to contribute to understanding the science behind such missions. It will also provide crucial data that will help us undertake more ambitious space exploration challenges including for the Mars 2117 Programme."